Daughter of the Dawn
by Aurora Marija
Summary: Leader finally won a long court battle. But..what does this mean for Akatsuki? The recently returned Sasori, as well as Deidara, have a new mission and they aren't gonna like it. But could friendship, and maybe something more, blossom from this?...
1. Chapter 1

Hello to all of my readers!! Thanks for reading another one of my crappy stories!! hugs

I actually had the idea for this one quite a while ago, wrote a few ideas down, then stopped myself. I thought about it and said 'am I high? Who is gonna read this shit? People are going to think I'm on something with an idea like this!!' And so I never published it on here, or bothered to elaborate on my ideas. But after reading another story, which was obviously by a like minded person, just a few days ago, I decided to return to my idea. After all, they had 18 reviews in one day, all positive- and their story was a bit hard to read too!! I only really have 2 stories on this site anyway, and so I decided that if theirs met with such acceptance, so would mine. And I need more stories on my account. So, here it is.

Yes, it of course deals with Sasori, and Deidara too, though I doubt Deidara will have any romantic role in the story. I don't see him as gay, but I don't really like him paired with anyone either. I think any side pairing I may have will be Itachi.. but hell, the main pairing won't even kick in for quite a few chapters, so let's not rush things!! And as for our little female in this story- well, I said I had a very similar idea- though originally I was toying with the idea of Kurenai too, but hell, she's married and all!- so it's the same kunoichi as the other fic. If you haven't read that, I'm not spoiling things for you. My idea on this whole thing is different though. It's not AU as the other was- I hate AU, no offense- and it's set after the timeskip. If you haven't read or seen- preferably read- Naruto timeskip, go away because there are spoilers!!!

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 1_

**S**asori sat on his bedroom floor, meticulously and painstakingly polishing his newest puppet. In retrospect, it wasn't that great a work of art in comparison to most of his older puppets. But, as he thought with malevolence, that damned pink-haired girl and his grandmother had destroyed all he had worked for- and had nearly killed him, though luckily he was always prepared ahead, unlike Deidara.

**A** sudden knock brought him out of his reverie, and he turned to the door, calling out in an annoyed and bored tone, "How many times do I have to tell you to go away Deidara?!.. I just explained this an hour ago. I'm busy brat, and I don't care how happy you are to see me back."

Sasori turned back to his work, satisfied that Deidara had left when he received no reply, and there were no more knocks.

Suddenly, the door opened with an audible creak, and Sasori turned around glaring daggers at the intruder. "Deidara, do you not understand Ja-"

He stopped mid-sentence and quickly shut his mouth, seeing that it was not Deidara, but Leader-sama himself who had entered the room. The man was now glaring at him, and Sasori quickly apologized, "I'm sorry Leader-sama, I was sure it was Deidara-san bothering me as per usual. I didn't mean to offend you in any way.." "Whatever, I don't have time for that right now. I have an assignment for Deidara and yourself. Report to my chambers in 15 minutes." With that, the shadowy figure was gone.

Sasori stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of what had just transpired, and figure out why Leader-sama couldn't just tell him the mission right then and there. But not one to wait, or to want to keep others waiting, he shrugged and grabbed his cloak from a nearby chair, throwing it on as he walked out of the room.

**W**hen Sasori arrived at the room, which was, technically speaking, Leader-sama's office, Deidara was already there. He had been sitting cross-legged on the floor of the dark, cavernous room, but when Sasori entered he spun around then quickly jumped up, a huge grin on his face. "Sasori no Danna…un! You-"

"Please, not now Deidara. I'm not in the mood for anymore useless nonsense." Sasori walked farther into the room, finally settling on standing disinterestedly in front of Akatsuki's huge demon-sealing statue.

"Ah, but I'm not going to harass you Danna! I just wanted to say how happy I am that you're back..un! No more Tobi-baka…un! And for months, I've been wanting to tell you," Deidara's voice lowered to a deadly whisper as an evil smirk spread across his face, "- I was right, un."

Sasori went rigid for a moment as he processed what Deidara had said; meanwhile Deidara stood with arms folded across his chest, a smug, triumphant look on his face.

After a moment though, Sasori recovered from his shock and countered, "You idiot, if you were right, how am I still here? I may have seemed to 'go out with a bang' or whatever that crap is that you say, but it seems I've proven my point- fine art will always be eternal."

The grin fell from Deidara's face and he stuttered madly trying to come back with a defense- but really, Sasori's argument was flawless. "Well Deidara, I guess you'll just never learn…" Sasori said flatly. "But.. but… your puppets..un! You thought they were eternal works of art, and after what that stupid kunoichi and you own grandmother did, their beauty and usefulness flitted away, just like any of my masterpieces! So ha, I wi-"

"Ahem," the Leader's shadowy astral projection loudly cleared his voice, having appeared at some point during the two artists' argument. "What did I tell you two retards about arguing in my presence?.." Deidara and Sasori immediately bowed. "Gomen nasai Leader-sama." "Yeah, gomen nasai…un."

"DON'T let it happen again," he replied threateningly. Then, his tone lightening a bit, the Leader said, "Anyway, as I informed the two of you, you have a new mission assignment. Seeing as how Deidara retrieved his designated jinchuuriki, and Tobi retrieved Sasori's in his absence, the two of you have no further obligations in that regard unlike most of the other teams. Therefore, I am giving you a much easier- though certainly no less important- assignment."

Deidara looked at Sasori, confused, as Leader-sama turned his back on the two and called out, "Zetsu, bring her in!! ..Gently!.."

"Her..un?..", Deidara mouthed to Sasori. Sasori merely shrugged in reply as the Leader turned back to face them. Movement could be heard from a door that was on the far wall behind the statue.

"Anyway, as I was saying, you two will have a top priority assignment. You see, after almost ten years of fighting, the court finally ruled in my favor, and I finally gained full custody rights of my little princess.." Deidara looked even more confused than ever, not to mention a bit scared, and Sasori looked like he was going to be sick for a moment at the Leader's sickeningly sweet, happy voice.

**A**s Zetsu finally emerged from behind the statue with a squirming girl in his arms, dropping her unceremoniously onto the floor before the Leader, Sasori almost fainted. Yes, puppet though he was, he almost fainted. Then blind rage took over, as he moved to grab one of his scrolls and have a puppet rip out her throat.

"Hey… Sasori no Danna..un… Isn't that that kunoichi who almost killed you?" Deidara whispered to Sasori, blinking repeatedly and thinking the world must have come to an end or something.

"Oh, so you've met my sweet little blossomy princess then? Even better, I don't need to introduce you all!" The Leader, having overheard, interjected excitedly, in a sugary sweet voice even more laden with honey than that of any grandmother on the planet. Sakura's eyes were bigger than dinner plates as she stared from Sasori to Deidara, and to her father, then back again. She squirmed to get out of the thick ropes tying her, and to spit out the gag stuffed deep into her mouth. Sasori meanwhile finally retrieved the scroll containing the new puppet he deemed worthy to bring about this pink haired bitch's demise, and immediately summoned it.

"Ahem..", the Leader quickly interrupted his blind fury, "Sasori, I think my daughter might be a bit tired from her trip. You can give her a puppet show, or let her play dolls with your puppets after she's rested up a bit. After all, I had to send Kisame to the house with Zetsu, so that her chakra could be drained for her long trip here.. As of now, you are to take her back to one of your rooms- you decide amongst yourselves- until proper living arrangements are established for my 'wittle sweetheart'.." Sasori glared at the Leader like he was ready to rip his throat out, but was sensible enough to put the puppet back into its scroll.

Leader's voice suddenly grew much more serious and took on a dangerous air. "You are to watch her at all times, and ensure that she is safe, gets whatever she desires- within reason, and remains on these premises unless previously approved by me. I will be here twice a week, as per usual, so I suggest that if she desires to go out anywhere, you plan the excursion thoroughly to ensure her safety, and bring it up with me beforehand. If I find that anything has happened to my daughter, or that you have disobeyed my dictate in any way, I will immediately have you both executed in ways so painful that you cannot even begin to imagine. And believe me Sasori- you will feel inconceivable pain at my hands, puppet or not, if my daughter is harmed or displeased. I will be back to check up on things in 3 days, and I expect to receive a good report."

He then turned to Sakura, and the astral projection bent down, patting her on the head. "Ohhh, sorry wittle sweetie, but Daddy has to go for now. I'll be back soon though, I pwomise… It's just Daddy has a tough job, you know, so I can't be here all the time… But you make sure these two give you everything you need while Daddy's gone, okay?"

The Leader pulled his daughter into a tight hug, apparently not noticing her vehement struggles to escape his grasp, or the wild, terrified look on her face. Leader then righted himself, glared warningly at Sasori and Deidara, and disappeared with a poof, leaving Sakura bound and gagged on the floor.

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Okay... so, I know it's a good deal like that other story. But hell, I already explained that. Flame me if you will, I'm open to flaming. Anyways, please review, and tell me what you think!! Tell me if you like it, hate it, like or hate the style I used to write it, etc.!! And tell me what you'd like to see if anything!! I'm sure of having a SasorixSakura paring in later chapters(it has so totally been my fav pairing for the past 3 months or so.. even moreso than TemarixShikamaru now!! o.O)... though all good romance takes time, so hold your horses peeps... But do you want to see other pairings?... Anything else? Lemme know!!! 

REVIEW!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Aurora: Hey everyone!! Wow, 9 reviews just on the first chapter! What do you guys think?

Sasori: (sitting there grumpily with arms folded) What am I doing here?.. This is the stupidest thing I've ever..

Deidara: (excited) Oh, shut up Danna...un! Aurora was nice enough to invite us here, you should be grateful.

Sasori: Well I'm not. So sue me. And what's this about me having a romance with that little pink-haired brat? Do you want me to be sick?

Aurora: Hmph, and here I thought puppets were past all that. Well, I was gonna ask you to make me a puppet, but if you still get sick, nevermind. But yeah, ha ha, you're gonna be in love with Sakura-san!  
Anyway, I have to ask you, my readers, to all do a favor for me. Deidara...

Deidara: (fumbling in his clay pouch for a paper) Yeah yeah, I've got the list thing you wrote here somewhere..un. Just a sec. (pulls paper out) Oh, ok. Um.. Aurora wants all of you readers to review- no matter what this chapter! She says if you can't other times that's fine, but this time she needs your help and feedback. At the beginning or end of your review, you're supposed to.. describe Sasori no Danna's personality in about 10 words, or ten phrases..un.. and then Sakura's too if you can. She's not sure if she's getting their characterization right, and needs to know what you think...un (turns to Aurora) But what about me..un? What just because I'm not some sick pervert who falls in love with little girls, I don't get any attention?

Aurora: (hugs Deidara) Hell no. You're just my 2nd fav character EVER, so I know what you're like, and if anyone tells me different, they just need to read the manga again. But I just started liking Sasori and Sakura as much as I do, and even though I reread the manga chapters of their fight 3 times and wrote down a paragraph each of their personality characteristics when around each other, I don't know if that's how others see them.

Sasori: Or maybe you're just too stupid and emotional to comprehend my personality. You probably read too much into it, and thought I was completely emotion driven, just like any typical woman.

Aurora: (Punches Sasori) Anyways, on with the story! Sorry if the ending seems a bit weird. This chapter got too long- 12 pages- so I had to cut it off, and just divided it where I saw fit. Chapter two is now 2 and 3, but it might seem weird.

Deidara: That's just because you spend too much time on your 'art'. Art is supposed to be fleeting and spontaneous, not _12 pages long_...un. No wonder you had problems.

Sasori: Or maybe she didn't spend _enough_ time... (glares knowingly)

Aurora: (crying in corner) So.. sob.. yeah... sob... I put this chappie up a day... sob.. early, so that you can tell me if it's crap. Sob! If they're OOC, tell me, and tell me how to fix it!! sob sob... I will!! By Saturday!!

Sakura: (controlled by Sasori's chakra strings) Here's the chapter... (hands manuscript over to all of you- angril_y)_

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. His daughter who happens to be Sakura, though she didn't know it. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 2_

**"U**m… Sasori no Danna?... So, what do we do with her..un?" Deidara had been standing there for 15 minutes already, waiting for Sasori to do something, anything, but he just stood there silently staring at the pink-haired kunoichi. She meanwhile had taken to staring at the floor, still looking like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, Deidara couldn't take it anymore. It was boring just standing there, staring at the girl squirming in her bindings on the floor.

Deidara walked over and bent down to pick Sakura up. 'Hmm… I guess I have to keep her in my room then..un. Damned Leader, as if the rooms aren't small enough already. I'll have no room to work on my art..un!'

"Deidara, stop." Sasori's cold, bored voice suddenly broke through Deidara's thoughts.

He turned and dropped the girl back to the floor. "Why Sasori no Danna…un?" Deidara asked, ignoring Sakura's piercing glare. "Leader-sama did say to bring her to stay in one of our rooms, right..un?" "Leave her there Deidara. Leave her and leave the room." "But-"

"Deidara. I said leave. The girl will be under my care and jurisdiction, not yours. Do you understand?" Sasori's voice didn't really leave much room for argument, and although Deidara would usually have argued anyway, he understood Sasori's feelings. This girl had almost killed his Sasori no Danna after all. Deidara quietly left the room, though not before sticking his tongues- all three of them- at Sasori as he went.

**O**nce the door had been firmly closed, the click resounding through the cavernous room, Sasori walked over to Sakura and bent down. Crouching next to her, he grabbed her chin, and turned her face up from the floor to look into his eyes. Satisfied at the deep terror in her eyes, he dropped her face roughly, standing and looking past her.

Sakura let out the breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding, but immediately regretted her premature relief. Sasori bent down over Sakura again, grabbing a fistful of her right pink hair and ripping her up roughly from where she sat in a heap on the floor. Doing her best to ignore the searing pain in her head, Sakura turned to Sasori with a defiant glare. She tried to mouth off to him, but soon remembered that the gag was still firmly lodged in her mouth.

"Don't worry girl, I'm not going to kill you- yet. But I have to say, after all I've been through, I hope Leader-sama doesn't actually think me so afraid of him or whatever torture he could inflict that I'm not going to make your every waking moment hell." Sasori pulled Sakura's hair, forcing her to follow him, in a bent over position, out of the room.

**S**asori threw open the door, and threw Sakura in, careful to aim her towards an area empty of puppets. Deidara silently opened his door and peeked out, watching everything that was transpiring, and as Sasori stalked into his room after Sakura, Deidara carefully opened the door a bit more, and tiptoed over to the next door to listen in.

**A**lthough her arms were bound, and her ankles bound with a wide chain, so as to allow only enough movement to walk with baby steps, Sakura managed, with some effort, to pick herself up after she impacted the wall. She did her best to keep a straight and emotionless face, although when Sasori had shoved her from the doorway to the far wall, her chakra depleted body hadn't been able to soften the impact. It damn hurt like freakin' hell, in plain Japanese. All she wanted to do was rip him limb from limb, and jump all over his stupid little chakra core heart until it was dust.

'**Then do it dammit, shannaro!! We can take him!! We've done it before!! That bastard is nothing! Besides, he can't throw us around like a damned broken toy doll!!'** _'That's just the thing though… until.. until..'_ Sakura could barely bring herself to think it, even though she and Inner Sakura knew it was true, _'until.. 'father' comes back, we're stuck with him. That blonde transvestite bastard just left us, once Sasori told him to. And when we fought him before, he was dead! We saw it! But look now.. It's like he never even fought us and Chiyo at all… Not a scratch on him..'_ Sakura's usual fiery countenance felt deflated and discouraged. No matter which way she looked at it, until she regained her chakra, which would take at least 24 hours after all that that shark freak had drained, she was stuck in this situation. She couldn't help the anger and defeat that marred her face as she stood off-balanced at the wall.

Sasori went about his business, picking up a puppet that had been lying on the floor, as he entered the room. He walked over to a far corner of the large room, laying his puppet onto a worktable as he sat on a tatami mat placed before it. A tiny trickle of blood dripped off of the table, going seemingly unnoticed by Sasori. He grabbed some wood polish, as well as a roll of wire and a few knives, and seemed completely oblivious to Sakura for the next 20 minutes.

**T**o Sakura, with her arms still firmly bound painfully behind her back, and the gag still stuffed nearly into her throat, it seemed nearly an eternity. His obvious purposeful disregard of her discomfort infuriated her. How dare he just leave her standing there like that.

'**Shannaro!! That's it!! I'm going to kill him! This gag takes like it's been through the sewer, a million times! And he's just pretending we're not even here- after what… father..ugh.. said, and after he dragged us in here like this too!! Does e think this is some game?! He's mine!!'** _'He probably does… But I don't see what he thinks he'll gain by 3 days of this. Just calm down- we'll be saved soon, and until then, there isn't much to do to this asshole puppet..'_ Sakura sighed, accidentally moving the gag even further down towards her throat. She made a slight gagging noise, and tried to get it back up to the front of her mouth. After a few moments of this, Sasori silently rose from his place on the mat and walked over to her.

He just stood there and stared at her for a moment, something that looked akin to a satisfied, irony-filled smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, to Sakura's surprise, Sasori reached around the back of her head and untied the gag. She promptly spit it out, letting it fall to the floor. "Wouldn't want you dying just yet little girl.." Sasori turned back towards his worktable, his voice laced with venom.

Sakura didn't waste any time once the gag was gone, but blurted out, "How the hell are you alive?! We killed you, you asshole puppet freak!! And how dare you even tough me when my.. father ordered that I be cared for properly!!"

Sasori laughed. "Please, do I look like Deidara? You and my grandmother were just stupid enough to let your emotions drive you, and failed to notice that I still had two unopened scrolls with me during your excitement at your victory. But you women were just too stupid and blind to realize that I saw old woman's attack, and let it hit me so that you would think I'd just given up. Once you left, all I needed was for someone to open the scroll and follow the instructions." He paused, relishing in the shocked and loathing expression on Sakura's face.

"And," he continued, "like I said, I don't care about Leader-sama's threats. Besides," Sasori leaned in, roughly grabbing her hair again, his voice growing dangerously low, "you aren't going to tell him anything. When he comes back to check in, everything will be perfect and rosy. Unless you'd like to be disemboweled piece by piece, have your skin slowly and painstakingly shredded off, your blood slowly drained and blood vessels cauterized with burning hot iron, and your muscles and bones cut and ripped from your body and replaced with wood and metal parts- all while you're still alive, brat." Sasori backed away a little, letting her hair fall from his fist as he let her take in what he'd said.

Sakura shuddered as she visualized his graphic threat, and couldn't help but let her eyes wander to the puppet on the table. She quickly averted her eyes and closed them, trying not to let him see the fear he'd instilled in her. He didn't deserve the pleasure.

But try as she might to hide her fear and disgust, his derision was easy to see by the satisfied smile that lit up his face. He grabbed her by the chin, roughly turned her face to force her to look him directly in the eyes for a moment, then threw her back against the wall.

This time, Sakura didn't even bother to try balancing herself to stand back up, but just sat defeatedly against the wall. Sasori was surprised, though he didn't show it as he turned away to leave the room. He had been sure it would take much more to break the feisty kunoichi's will, even this much. 'All the better. This should make things a good deal easier. Perhaps just seeing me, knowing that all she and Grandma Chiyo did was worthless, and knowing that she can't do anything in her current state to rectify the situation has driven her to her breaking point. She'll be my submissive little puppet soon enough.'

However, Sasori's thoughts were interrupted as his hand touched upon the doorknob, when Sakura called out, "Like I'd ever let you turn me into one of your little dolls, you sicko! I'm not afraid! Think what the hell you want! Just you wait though!! And how can you not even care that your own grandmother died, because of what you people did!! You didn't even care that she created that jutsu for you… I hate you! You didn't die before, but I'll make sure to kill you this time!! There won't be anything left!" Sakura covered up her fear with feigned effrontery. It made her feel a little better at least. Sasori paused for a moment, but soon tuned Sakura completely out, opening the door to leave.

And in fell Deidara. He quickly scrambled to his feet, an embarrassed smirk on his face. Sasori had stepped back as though being near Deidara would cause one to catch some deadly disease. He stood, arms folded, glaring daggers at his partner. "Oh, um.. hey Sasori no Danna..un." Deidara laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, I uh, was just.. walking by, and then, then.. Tobi-baka came and ran into me..un! And you happened to open the door, and I fell in! Imagine that."

"Yes. Imagine that. Deidara, do you think I'm stupid? I told you not to get involved; now get out of my sight before I turn you into a hitokugutsu- though you wouldn't be worth much artistically anyway." Sasori brushed by the clay artist and out of the room. "Stay away from her Deidara, she's under my care for the time being. You are not to get involved. I need to go out for some parts, but don't think I won't know if you've been in my room, fraternizing with the girl."

Deidara gave Sakura a quick look, something between sympathy and derision, then turned to follow Sasori out of the room, his cloak making a swooshing sound and his bangs hitting his normally uncovered eye.

**S**akura did her best to curl up against the wall and rest. Not sleep- she wasn't stupid enough to sleep with her life in such potential danger. After all, Sasori could come back at any moment, or any other Akatsuki member could wander in here, and kill her while she slept. But resting, while still keeping aware of her surroundings, wasn't a problem- and was necessary if she wanted to regain all of her lost chakra within the next few days.

For a good while, all Sakura could think about was how her arms ached in their position tied tightly behind her, and her head ached from her two collisions with the wall. Not to mention the blind rage against Sasori for doing what he'd done, not to mention just being alive. But eventually, fatigue took over, and Sakura slowly drifted off, not even realizing that she'd fallen asleep.

**S**akura was startled awake when she felt someone touching her arm, followed by what felt like a glass of water spilt onto her arm or something. She opened her eyes with a start, cursing herself for having fallen asleep in such a lion's den. "Heh, about time you woke up kunoichi..un." As her eyes focused, she saw that Deidara was crouching next to her curling up figure, and had apparently been tapping her arm to wake her up. As she looked to her arm, she realized his hand had also been licking her, whether intentionally or not, and she shuddered.

Deidara grinned at her. "Are you cold kunoichi..un? Sorry, but I'm not required to give you a blanket, and I think Sasori no Danna would probably notice and get angry anyway."

"You can call me Sakura-san…" Sakura muttered, her throat dry and her voice cracking from its lack of use while she'd been gagged, and during her sleep. She cringed, embarrassed. "What?... Sakura-san?... Fine, whatever..un. Anyway," Deidara turned to call over his shoulder, "Tobi, get the hell over here..un!"

A man who Sakura had never seen, with a bright orange, swirly mask, appeared behind Deidara, almost dropping a tray he carried. _'Wow… who is he? That mask of his is the ugliest thing I've ever seen! It's such a bright orange… Ino would die if she saw someone who lacked this much fashion sense.'_ Sakura laughed to herself. "Tobi is sooorrry Deidara-senpai! But Tobi remembered that he forgot to get some fruit to put on the tray, and it's always important to eat your fruits and vegetables!" _'And he talks so weird too… What, do they all have some sort of speech problem? Maybe it's just part of whatever mental illness they all must suffer from.'_

"Give me that tray, you baka! I told you we don't have much time..un! Sasori no Danna will be back soon!" Deidara stood from his crouching position, and grabbed the tray from Tobi.

"Tobi is sorry he took so long Deidara-senpai!! He really is!!" "Shut up, and get out of here before I assign you a cause of death Tobi." "But..but you always say that to Tobi, Deidara-sempai! Tobi was just trying to help! Besides, how many more 'causes of death' can there be?" Tobi replied, waving Deidara off and chuckling a little.

Deidara's face grew dark, and so fast that Sakura could barely see, he grabbed a piece of clay from the pouch at his waist, stuffed it into his hand, and his handmouth spit it back out into the shape of a small sparrow. "Say that again Tobi…" he replied viciously. "Well it's true Deidara-senpai. Tobi wasn't lying! See, you can't come up with anything new!"

Deidara immediately released the bird, sending it flying at Tobi. He turned and tried to run out of the room, but Deidara did a few quick handseals, and the bird blew up, sending Tobi falling to the floor. "Each masterpiece is new and unique. That's part of the beauty of art you idiot! If everything lasted, and was based off of what came before it, how would that be art?! How would there be any progress or new ideas?! You don't know anything, that's all!" Deidara fumed. Tobi just twitched on the floor in reply.

"Anyway, sorry about that. Tobi's just a baka…un." Deidara said, turning his attention back to Sakura, startling her from looking over at Tobi, whom she felt really bad for at this point. She looked up at Deidara apprehensively. "Anyway, I know Sasori no Danna is kinda treating you bad. And Leader-sama said we had to make sure you were happy..un. I really couldn't care less, except that you don't know what that guy is capable of. Sasori no Danna must've hit his head really hard when he fought with you and his grandmother or something, to go against Leader-sama like this."

Sakura stared at Deidara questioningly, wondering if he was actually going to help her escape the room. Her hopes weren't allowed to flourish for long though.

"I just brought you some food. Tobi made it, so sorry if it takes like crap..un. You'll have to eat it before Sasori no Danna comes back, so that he doesn't know I was in here...un. But he doesn't need to eat, so who knows when he'd remember that you need to. Probably when you're lying there dead, un." Deidara laughed.

Sakura looked at the floor dejectedly, but still muttered, "Thank you, Deidara-san." Deidara placed the food tray in front of her, and then she realized that she had no way to eat it. "Um.. Deidara-san?.."

"What is it..un?" Deidara had walked over to the doorway, stepping carefully around Tobi, and was looking out into the hallway. "I.. I have no way to eat this you know."

Deidara flipped around to stare at her, and deadpanned when he realized she was still bound. "Well, bend over or something and lick it up. I'm not going to come and feed you..un." Sakura was crestfallen- she had thought that maybe in Deidara, she had actually found someone among these criminals who might almost be normal, who might _almost_ care. She wished she hadn't jumped to such conclusions.

"Hey, Tobi. Get the hell up." Deidara kicked Tobi. "Go and feed the girl..un. Unless of course you aren't a 'good boy'…un."

Tobi was instantly off of the floor, as though Deidara had never even used explosives on him. "Of course Tobi is a good boy!!" He replied vehemently, and he hurried over to help Sakura eat.

She stared at it hesitantly as Tobi lifted it to her mouth. "What's wrong? Tobi is trying to help you, so open up!"

Deidara turned from the doorway to look at the spectacle. "It isn't poisoned. Well, unless you count that he made it…un. But really, imagine what would happen if we killed you, un." Deidara sighed at Sakura, who still looked apprehensively at the spoon. "Tobi, take a bite you idiot."

Tobi just sat there. "Bite of what Deidara-senpai?"

"Oh I can't take this anymore! Give me the damned spoon you moron!" Deidara walked briskly over, grabbed the spoon from Tobi and shoved a mouthful into his mouth. He then handed it back to a very confused Tobi, and walked back to the doorway.

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So.. remember what Deidara-san said!!! REVIEW!!! And tell me in roughly 10 words or phrases how YOU would characterize Sasori's personality!!! I have my own ideas, but I need to see if they're the same as yours! After all, I'm writing this for all of you:)  



	3. Chapter 3

Aurora: Hey again everyone!! Here's the next chapter!! Thanks for all of your reviews!! I thought I had Sasori's personality down, but wasn't sure... 

Sasori: You didn't understand my personality before, and you still don't. Really, stop deluding yourself. You're just an over-emotional female. (smiles smugly)

Aurora: Oh yeah, well you're an asshole... And I'm really not that emotional like most girls. So ha! Right Deidara?!

Deidara: Um, I'd rather not be a part of this..un. But.. yeah, I think Aurora-san is right Sasori no Danna. Though of course you don't have much of a personality anyway...

Sasori: What the hell do you know Deidara? You're even more stupid than she is...

Aurora: Anyway, we have to get to reviews...

Deidara: And wasn't your chapter supposed to be out 2 days ago..un?

Sasori: Pathetic. You tick me off like nothing else. And I'm sure you know I hate waiting.

Aurora: Yeah, okay! But I had to go to the Metropolitan Opera on Friday, and over to college for stuff yesterday! Anyway, I'm sorry!!! Um, okay.. sakura-angel113, thanks for your review!

Deidara: How can you feel sorry for Tobi-baka, un?! He's so annoying, and stupid, and.. I could really go on forever, but Aurora-san'll get ticked. But dammit, I'd give anything to just kill that baka!! (getting a huge explosive ready for Tobi)

Aurora: Deidara, give me that. And stop. I feel bad for Tobi.. but you guys just have issues is all- and it is funny to see him tortured... Now, SweetAssassi, Teges, and Pringles Salt and Vinegar, thanks for your reviews!! I'm glad you think I did a good job on Sasori's personality! We'll see about the puppet thing.. and Teges, I thought once Sakura's gag was taken out, that she yelled at Sasori. Maybe I didn't put that in but thought I did?.. But she didn't seem silent.

Sasori: No, you put it in.. Damned brat. That girl needs to learn her place.

Aurora: Whatever. I think you're the one who needs to learn their place- you need to meet some radical feminist, with a gun, but since that's not me, I can't help ya...

Sasori: Shut up you ignorant child. And lily, why would I ever want to treat Sakura, the little brat who nearly killed me, as a doll? Do I seem the type to you that would take the time out to fawn all over her, and dote upon the brat with dresses and such as though she's a Barbie?

Aurora: (laughs nervously) Heh... lily, ignore Sasori. But really, I don't see him as the type to lovingly be dressing Sakura up in frilly clothes. If he turned her into a puppet, it would only be as revenge, and to help him in battle, right?.. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong...

Deidara: This is boring... I'm not even part of the conversation anymore..un. Let's just get to the chapter. (hands out copies to all of you)

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn **_

_Chapter 3_

**S**akura really was thankful for the food Tobi and Deidara had brought for her. It seemed Deidara had been right about Sasori, even though he'd meant it as a joke.

**W**hen Sasori returned, he set about working on his puppet again, doing so well into the evening, and never once getting up to ask Sakura if she was hungry, or needed to use the bathroom or anything. In fact she hadn't thought to ask Deidara about a bathroom break, and did really have to go. But she'd be damned if she had to ask Sasori for permission to use a bathroom, damned if she had to be dependant on and therefore inferior to him. She knew something like that would be just what he wanted. Instead, she just rested, doing her best to replenish her lost chakra.

**F**inally, at 10pm, Sasori rose from his spot in front of the worktable and sealed the puppet he'd been working on into a scroll. Luckily he had a grandfather clock along the far wall of his room and Sakura could gauge the time- though it only furthered her annoyance that he'd ignored her and her needs for so long.

"Well brat, I do hope you weren't expecting some lavish accommodations, and for us to wait on you hand and foot. As you can see, I have no bed, and no need for one. But of course, you seem to be quite comfortable right there, no? I spend my nights reading, girl, and like to be left alone, so I recommend you fall asleep soon. Oh but first.."

Sasori bent down over Sakura, her entire body stiffening in anticipation of a blow, "I really can't see you remaining in these pathetic ropes and chains. Kisame-san is so plebian in his methods. I apologize for him having been the one sent to retrieve you."

Sakura was confused at his seeming sincerity. No matter which way she looked at it, it just didn't make sense. He untied the ropes and the chain binding her ankles, and threw them carelessly to the side. Sakura pulled her arms in front of her, thankfully massaging her wrists, which had deep welts in them.

"No, those ropes and chains were certainly unbefitting of you little brat." Sasori suddenly continued, shaking his head. "I can just imagine what would have happened once you'd regained your chakra." Before Sakura could even blink, Sasori had tied her up in a huge amount of thick chakra strings, more tightly than she had been bound with the ropes.

Finally, Sakura had had enough. Plus, she really had to go to the bathroom now. "You bastard!! Let me go!! You have no right to do this, keeping me like some slave or something, toying with me like this!! I'm going to tell my father, and you're going to die!! Now let me go to the bathroom-now!- or else!" She strained against her chakra bonds, and could feel them straining as well against her strength, but her chakra wasn't replenished enough to break free yet.

Sasori gazed at her for a moment as though amused, then turned around and walked to another part of the room, as though searching for something.

Suddenly, he turned back around and approached Sakura, a shallow bucket with what looked like dried blood caking the sides in his hands. "I don't have the time to escort you to the bathroom and back. But I suppose this should be adequate for you."

"WHA-..?"

"I normally use this to drain the bodily fluids when creating a hitokugutsu, but since _someone_ decided to destroy most of my art, and since my return I haven't had much opportunity to add to my collection, I don't have any need for this for the time being."

He placed the bucket down in front of her, the mockery evident in his glassy eyes, then stood with his arms folded, staring at her. Sakura stared at the bucket, realizing what he meant- and that he was watching her like she was some kind of animal he was trying to paper train or something. _'That perverted bastard!! Shannaro!! No way in hell can he think I'm going to settle for this!'_ Inner Sakura was right, Sakura sure as hell wasn't. This was going too far. "What the hell do you think I am, you asshole? Like I'm going to go to the bathroom, in a _bucket_, in _front of you_?!"

Sasori sighed. "Please brat, try to understand. It's not as though it's anything I haven't seen when working with some of my puppets.. Please, I'm not going to be suddenly transfixed by you and be overcome by lust. Unlike everyone else here, I have no desire to ravage you, or any other girl, regardless of circumstances. You read too much into things, because you're obviously just as pathetically emotion driven as the last time we met. ..I just want to ensure that you don't soil my floor is all. I don't need the extra work of having to clean up after you."

Sakura was silent for a moment, just staring at the disgusting, blood-stained bucket. "I don't give a damn!! Just bring me to a damned bathroom, now!!" She finally retorted, kicking the bucket over. Sasori just stared at her, indifferently. "No. I can't trust that you won't try something when you leave the room. And like I said, I don't have the time for your petty little human needs. I need to work on my new puppets, since _somebody_ destroyed them all…"

He did turn and walk over to the other side of the room though, going back to his work desk to fix the arm of one puppet, as he noted out of the corner of his eye that Sakura stood up and tried to right the bucket again. Most girls- even a fair amount of men- would have sat there and cried, but Sakura had a fiercely determined look on her face as she glared at the bucket, struggling with all of her available strength to break out of the chakra strings binding her.

**S**uddenly Sasori rose from the table and moved towards the door. He stopped for a moment, glancing pitifully at Sakura, and walked over releasing her form the chakra strings, stating, "You really can't do anything on your own, can you? Now pick up the bucket, and go already," then moved on to the door. He threw it open, and in fell a surprised looking Deidara.

"Heh, um, sorry…un. I just heard yelling was all, and I know what you said Sasori no Danna, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay." Deidara's eyes fell on Sakura, who was sitting next to the bucket, looking confused and blushing a deep crimson.

"Uh… what're you doing, un?"

"None of your business Deidara. Get out, you aren't needed-"

"Deidara-san, can you please help me to the bathroom?!" Sakura cut in. "I really need to go, but don't know where it is, and I'm all tied up."

"Um.. sure..un.. You have to let her go to the bathroom Sasori no Danna..un." Deidara forced a laugh. "I mean, you don't want her going all over the floor.."

"Deidara." Sasori's voice was stern and threatening, and he took out one of the scrolls containing his puppets, but Deidara just smirked widely, and shunshined over to Sakura's side.

Sasori knew that it was pointless to try to explain things to Deidara. The damned idiot was always doing rash things like this, and no matter how you tried talking sense into that boy, he never learned. He also didn't want him contacting the Leader for refusing the girl a trip to the bathroom. Now that Deidara was involved, all he could do was concede. "Fine. You have 5 minutes to bring her to the bathroom and back, and are to go nowhere else." Deidara just nodded, and walked out of the room, Sakura walking slowly after him.

"**I** don't know what's with Sasori no Danna, but I'm going to talk to him tomorrow. It's one thing to keep you in his room and scare you a little, but it's something totally different when he starts treating you bad against orders… un. And after thinking on it, I mean, it's my assignment too, un.. and if he's stupid enough to test Leader-sama's patience, fine, but I'm not letting him get me involved. He's gonna have to lighten up. Sometimes he's just got a stick up his ass is all, un… You just gotta learn to ignore him."

"Thanks again Deidara-san.", she said half-heartedly. Sakura didn't like how she seemed dependent on Deidara for her repeated salvation, and certainly didn't like having to thank any of these murdering bastards, but he had gotten her food, and now was bringing her to the bathroom.

"Don't mention it..un. After all, I'm not really doing it for you anyway, Sakura-san." He turned and grinned at her. She couldn't place it, but there was something she didn't like about that grin.

**A**fter she'd used the bathroom, Sakura began heading in the direction that she thought Sasori's room was in, but suddenly Deidara stopped her. "Hey, not that way..un. C'mon, follow me."

She followed obediently, but soon realized that she must have been right, because this was definitely not the way they'd come to the bathroom. Maybe he was leading her a different way for some reason?  
Suddenly, he stopped at a foreboding pair of French doors. Sakura stared up at him questioningly, and suddenly he opened the doors, wrapped his hand firmly around her back, and pushed her in, following after her.

Sakura quickly took in the surroundings. It was a large room, though nowhere near as large as the room with the statue that Sakura had been left in that morning, and was obviously their kitchen and dining hall. Along the far side of the room was a typical kitchen set-up, and it was partitioned from the rest of the room by a half wall with a large countertop on it. The rest of the room was comprised of four tables- two larger rectangular ones, and two smaller circular card tables which were closest to the door, all sparsely situated around the room, with comfortable looking chairs to match.

Sitting at one of the rectangular tables was the guy who looked like a shark, and Uchiha Itachi. She remembered seeing him when everyone had gone to try and save Gaara- although of course, that hadn't really been him but only a jutsu cast on someone else, she reminded herself. She didn't want to know what he was capable of.

**K**isame looked up as the door opened, and Itachi continued to sit indifferently, eating some dango. "Hey, Deidara-san! …What the hell is the girl doing here? You didn't go and get attached, did you now?" Kisame laughed gruffly. "If you really can't bear to kill her, I can finish the job for you." He got up out of his seat, and began moving to get his huge sword, which was leaning against the wall.

"Hey Kisame-san. We're not supposed to kill her..un. Me and Sasori no Danna have to baby-sit her, for our new mission." Deidara folded his arms over his chest, his face in a pout, while Kisame meanwhile just stood there and stared. Itachi still didn't glance up from his food.

"I don't get it… Is she his new mistress or something?" Sakura started, and glared at him with indignation. "OF COURSE I'M-" "Nah…" Deidara cut in, "she's just his daughter." Kisame was speechless, and he had to support himself against the table to keep from falling over in his shock. Deidara's statement had even elicited a response in Itachi- he placed down his dango, and just stared at Sakura, sizing her up she supposed.

"Yeah right, Deidara-_chan_, what the heck, do you really think we're going to fall for that? Really now.." Kisame said, finally recovering.

"But it's true..un. Why the hell would I want to keep her around if it wasn't? I'd just use her for some artistic expression and that's it. And stop calling me that, you asshole!" Deidara stuck his tongues out at Kisame.

"Well, I wouldn't have to say that stuff, if it wasn't true! So quit complaining, you're the one who looks like a girl. You look more feminine than she does!" Kisame pointed at Sakura, who was offended by his remark.

"Kunoichi, come here." Itachi's smooth, dark voice broke through Kisame and Deidara's ongoing argument. The two other Akatsuki members paused to look at Itachi, as Sakura approached the table.

'_Just don't look at his eyes, and everything will be fine. Try not to look at him at all…,'_ she coached herself, staring at the floor as she went to the table and sat down. She could feel his eyes boring into her, feel him analyzing her.

**I**t was quite a while before he spoke, and Kisame and Deidara had already gone back to arguing. "You are Leader-sama's daughter?" It was more a statement than a question.

Sakura nodded in reply, continuing to stare at her feet, and the designs in the carpet. "You will look at me when I speak to you." Itachi's voice was stern, and Sakura looked slowly upwards, reminding herself not to look into his eyes. She did see his eyes though, and although he had his Sharingan on as always, he wasn't using Mangekyou Sharingan. "You are also on the same team as the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, with Hatake Kakashi as your sensei?"

"…Yes. But if you think I'm telling you where to find Naruto-kun, you're wrong!" After a pause, during which he grabbed some more dango and ate it, he replied, "That will all come in due time. For now, I know all I require."

**K**isame and Deidara came over to the table and sat down. "Hey, um, I'm sorry about earlier and all, kunoichi. No hard feelings? I mean, orders are orders, and your father- I guess- he ordered us to bring you here, and make sure you had your chakra drained so you couldn't break anything." Kisame put out his hand. "Anyway, I'm Kisame-san, and I guess that you've already met Mr. Personality over there." Itachi glared at him over his dango, but said nothing. Deidara laughed, though Sakura was afraid to do more than just smile a little at the joke on the Uchiha's behalf, and just stared at Kisame's hand until he awkwardly retracted it.

**S**uddenly, the door to the dining hall was thrown open. "I should've figured so. Deidara, what the hell is wrong with you?! Do you not understand the concept of 5 minutes, or the words 'bring her right back'?!"

Deidara stood up surprised by Sasori's sudden entrance into the room. "I thought she might be hungry. And everyone else was here, so I figured it was a good time for her to meet them…un. She isn't yours."

Sasori brushed past Deidara, chakra strings shooting out towards Sakura, catching her arms and legs, and forcing her to stand from her place and walk towards him. "Really Deidara?.. Well it would appear that way to me. Stay out of my business, as we discussed." He turned and walked out of the room, pulling Sakura unwillingly along with him.

**S**he strained against the chakra strings the entire way back, and finally, when they had almost reached the bedroom, managed to break free. Sasori turned, but to Sakura's surprise, he was smiling, this strange, almost lopsided smile, as he just sent a greater amount of chakra strings out to grasp her limbs, too many to break free of without full chakra.

When they entered the room, instead of throwing her against the wall, this time he had her walk gracefully over and set herself down gently. He went over to a cabinet for a moment, then came back with two small flasks in hand.

Sakura's eyes went wide when she realized what they were. 'He's going to poison me! Why the hell is he going to kill me?! It's not my fault if Deidara brought me to the dining hall, and besides if he kills me, the Leader will kill him!..' Sasori pulled out a kunai, and broke the two tiny flasks against the tip, the poisons making a sizzling sound as they reacted with one another.

He bent down, grabbing her wrist as she struggled to break free of all of the chakra strings binding her under his control. "Don't worry girl, I'm not stupid enough to kill you. This is just to ensure that you don't go trying to kill me. After all, with your chakra control and unbecoming strength, I'm sure you'd be trying yet again to send me to my grave by tomorrow morning. But this will ensure that, while you may have full chakra, it won't flow properly. It clogs the entire flow of the system, and I usually just use it on puppets before they're completed since I don't want wasted chakra- but it should be perfect for you too."

Sakura spit at him as his cold hand grasped her arm painfully tight, while he slashed into her skin with the kunai. He just indifferently got up and walked back over to his bookcase, making sure to take the two empty flasks with him and throw them out as he went.

**T**he rest of the night passed uneventfully, though Sakura refused to let herself fall asleep. Sasori sat in a wooden chair near the wall, and read as he said he would, glancing up every now and then to check on her. She certainly wouldn't let herself fall asleep with him around, especially if she couldn't mold any chakra; she could feel the poison's effects almost immediately after the fiasco. So she resorted to looking around and memorized every little detail about the room and its contents, waiting for morning to come.

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So yeah. I had this chapter written before I posted the last one- but thanks to your reviews changed a few things. So thanks everyone!!!

Hope ya liked it!! REVIEW!!! LET ME KNOW WHAT NEEDS CHANGING:)


	4. Chapter 4

Aurora: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait!

Sasori: And you_ know _how I hate waiting... -summons puppet and tries to attack Aurora-

Aurora: Ack, help!! Deidara, someone, help!!

Deidara: Dammit, why am I getting pulled into this..un? -blows up puppet with some #18 clay-

Sasori: I'm going to kill you Deidara-

Aurora: Okay, okay, enough!!! Get to my reviews you guys, now!!!

Sasori: Fine. Well, kurlyQT.. you want me to lighten up, on that disgusting brat? Please. She's useless, and has such an attitude problem.. Someone just needs to put her in her place. And as for her meeting Zetsu and that Blue-haired girl, well I guess that she'll be doing so soon, now that her father wants to give her more freedoms.. -grumbles-

Deidara: Aw, admit it Danna- I think you're starting to like her...un.

Sasori: Never, you incompetent ass. Now I'm going to work on my puppets, this is a waste of my time.

Aurora: Oooh, burnnn... Well we don't need him Dei. We'll handle the other reviews! Anyways, lily, sorry if my response last time sounded mean. I didn't mean it that way!! I know lots of fanfics portray the two that way! I just... don't think that would happen in the anime or manga is all. But I sooo did not mean to offend you in any way!

Deidara: Thanks pinky101 and Deoxys!! We're glad that you like the story..un! But of course, that's just 'cause I'm in it, right?

Aurora: Of course Deidara-san, who wouldn't think that? Lol. And Sinister Voices, thanks for the heads up on Kisame's speech. Next time he appears I'm so following what you said! I never knew that... Glad you told me. And I'm glad you like my portrayal of Sasori and Sakura. So yeah, everyone thanks for your reviews!!! You guys begging me to update is what made me do so this week, even though I'm super busy and for 3 days we were searching for our cat and sure it was dead. I was traumatized- but he's been found! So I was able to write today.

Deidara: -hands out copies of the chapter-

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 4_

**S**akura awoke to the sound of muffled voices arguing, and mentally cursed herself for having fallen asleep yet again. She knew it was due to the lack of chakra and chakra flow, but didn't see that as any legitimate excuse when trapped in a place like this. She blinked in the bright light streaming in from a window she hadn't noticed the day before, and glanced at the clock- 10am- so she'd been sleeping for 4 hours then. She shifted position to get her face out of the blinding sun, and strained to hear the voices in the hall.

"Sasori no Danna, Leader-sama is going to be back in two days. If you don't care, fine, but I don't want him to torture or kill me..un. You've seen what that guy's capable of, and this is his daughter of all things..un."

Sasori leaned against the wall, gazing at Deidara indifferently. "Deidara, you don't seem to comprehend. I'm not surprised though really, your lack of intellect is obvious. The girl needs to be under my care and control for the time being, a little puppet as it were."

"Yeah, but we don't need her breaking down and crying to Daddy..un!! I mean, he said we have to treat her a certain way, and she was right there!" Deidara yelled, up in Sasori's face. "I'm not going along with this, un. It's one thing to keep her tied up for a while so she doesn't run- he had her tied up. But you take it too far!"

Sasori sighed, shaking his head. "You're pretty pathetic Deidara, I have to say. The girl will remain in my room."

Deidara was about to start yelling again, but Sasori held up his hand to silence him. "She will remain there; however, we'll see. Maybe I'll grant a little more leniency to the girl since you're so afraid. If it really troubles you so much, you may take her out for supervised meals and bathroom trips. It will be on my schedule, not hers, or yours, and the rest of the time she is to remain in the room."

"Fine..un."

Sasori opened the door and reentered the room, meeting with a deadly glare from Sakura.

**B**ut as that day and the next progressed, nothing much _did_ seem to change. Sasori did bring her a plate of food that evening, and the next afternoon, but it was like he was _timing her_ or something. He stood there as he placed it down, watching as she began checking it for poison.

"Oh please, after seeing what you're capable of in the past, do you really think I'd poison you by simply putting something in the food? I'm not an idiot, you'd obviously notice something right away…"

**S**akura checked anyway, and then, as she ate, he pulled the plate away before she was even half done. And it was obvious that her 2 daily bathroom breaks were meticulously timed- 5 minutes allowed from the time she left the room 'til return.

**A**fter Deidara came at the designated time and brought her to the bathroom and back, she was just setting herself back into her spot against the wall when Sasori turned to her. "Brat, come here."

Sakura looked at him askance for a moment, then glared and defiantly sat down. Sasori chuckled a little, then just shot some chakra strings at Sakura's arms and legs, trapping her in his grasp and forcing her to stand. She struggled against the chakra strings, and finally broke free, but he merely sent a larger number of them to envelop her limbs, and forced her to walk over to him.

"Women are always so difficult, aren't they? And you most of all. You have such a temper; I can't really see what Deidara sees in you." As he sat Sakura down on the floor adjacent to him, she looked at him in disbelief. "Please girl, don't give me that look. Think about it. Why else would Deidara be treating you like he has?"

"That's just because of what my.." Sakura swallowed hard, "my _father_ said. He's just trying to follow orders and be a decent person, unlike someone!" She yelled, balling her fists.

"Well, I know Deidara a good deal better than you. I know the way his mind works, and he's compulsive and emotional- he always acts on instincts, without thinking things through. But fine; just don't come crying to me once you've learned your lesson."

Sakura contemplated this for a moment. It didn't seem plausible that Deidara could only be acting nice to gain her trust and use her. Though of course, he was a young guy, and if he gained her trust first, she'd have no reason to report anything that happened to her father if there was emotional attachment…

**W**hen Deidara came that night to take her for her bathroom break, Sakura simply shook her head and told him she didn't have to go. He tilted his head and looked at her for a moment, then just shrugged. "Well, my room is right next door, so if you have to go, or Sasori no Danna starts manhandling you," he laughed, "just yell…un. I'll be up for a few more hours, working on my art."

Sakura just watched him go, reflecting on what Sasori had said. Maybe he was being just a bit _too_ nice for an S-class missing-nin; maybe there really was some underlying motive. After all, aside from what she'd seen of Deidara the past 2 and a half days- and that could be a front- what did she really know about him? 10 minutes that he'd spent using Gaara's dead body as a couch before taking off and leaving her and Chiyo to fight Sasori? Thinking of it now, it did seem as though he was a wise-ass, and could be playing her for all she was worth- but like hell that would happen.

**A** little while later, Sasori rose from the chair by the window that he had been reading in, and walked over to Sakura. She backed tightly against the wall, balling her fists and sending chakra to them, in preparation to hit him in the face and knock his head off if he got too close. Yet before he was within five feet of her, he restrained her arms and legs yet again with those damned chakra strings.

'**Dammit, I swear I'm going to kill whoever came up with the idea for these things!!' **Inner Sakura screamed, looking ready to rip someone' head off. _'I don't care who the hell invented them, I just want to kill him! I've had enough of this!..'_ Sakura didn't waste any time though, and broke almost immediately out of the chakra strings Sasori had tried to keep her subdued with. She jumped up from her place on the floor, sending a huge amount of chakra to her fist, ready to send the puppet through about five walls, and ran towards him.

And then suddenly she collapsed onto the floor at his feet, her fist having been only inches from making contact with his face. Sluggishly and painfully looking up and then around her, to try to figure out what had happened, she suddenly saw a puppet standing behind her that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Sasori must have summoned it just after she had left her place by the wall.

"What did you do to me?!..." Sakura asked, the forceful intent in her voice coming out instead only as a weak whisper.

Sasori sealed the puppet away again with a slight 'poof', then gathered a handful of Sakura's pink locks into his hand and pulled her up by the back of her head. "Why, shouldn't you be able to figure it out, medic-nin that you are? After all, you did find an antidote to one of my most potent poisons- one that was practically incurable- in less than 3 days. But of course, we can't have you doing something like that now, now can we? You're bothersome enough as things stand." As his sarcastic remarks cut through her, she braced herself for another impact with the wall- but it never came. Instead, she found herself thrown lightly into his reading chair, her body soaking in the soft cushions.

"At any rate, you make things quite difficult brat. I can't be here to baby-sit you continuously, and with Deidara to watch you, who knows what you might be up to. And so you couldn't really expect me to use the same poison on you twice, with your supposed affinity for chemistry. What I've used is much stronger, and not only affects your chakra system, but also your muscle response. You won't be moving much on your own for quite a few days."

"You asshole!... Well, you don't know anything about poisons, believe me! If I came up with an antidote to one, I'll find one for this one too, even if I can barely move! Like I'd let myself just be stuck here having to listen to you!.." Sakura tried to yell, but her voice came out hoarse and cracked, and she found it hard to form words at all, probably due to her muscles not working properly.

'_Dammit, he poisoned me and drained my chakra again! And I didn't even see him coming!'_ **...'Well, because it wasn't him- damn asshole had to use a puppet to do his dirty work! But we are not letting this happen again! He's a dead man! Shannaro!' **Sakura fretted over all of the side effects that this new, much stronger poison would most likely have, but soon fell asleep in the soft cushions of the chair.

**S**asori stood and watched her rest for quite a while, admitting to himself that her spirit, talents, and artistic value were rather unique and valuable. However, he soon realized himself, and stalked angrily over to his worktable

**W**hen Sakura awoke the next morning, if anything she felt worse rather than better. Her entire body ached, and as she tried to lift her head off of the downy cushions, she saw spots and thought she would faint, her head falling limply back to the chair. As she did her best to recover from the strain on her body, the door to the room opened.

"Well Deidara, if you're so eager to see him go and get her." "WHAT?! I'm not going to carry her! You know how much she must weigh..un!" Sakura forced herself up at that, ignoring the searing pressure that made her head feel ready to explode.

"Are you saying that I'm fat?!.." Sakura cried out.

Well, you know..un-" "Well, I wouldn't exactly call you a super model brat. What can I say, you have a rather unflattering masculine build along with that unbecoming strength of yours. Women just aren't cut out to be in your line of expertise, it ruins their physique." Sasori gave her a vicious smile, and Deidara couldn't help but double over in laughter. Sakura immediately pushed herself with all of her remaining strength off of the lounge chair and at Sasori- but collapsed in a heap not even two feet from the chair.

Deidara stopped laughing and glanced at Sasori worriedly, but Sasori merely folded his arms and turned to walk out of the room. "Wait! Sasori no Danna, we can't bring her in there like this..un! He'll kill us!"

"Well, I suppose he may kill you. But he trusts me a good deal more than you, and if he asks, I'm just going to hold you as the responsible party. Now just pick her up, will you? I'm getting tired of waiting, and I'm not in a good mood as it is." Deidara walked over and lifted Sakura off of the ground, carefully arranging her into his arms like one would hold a baby. She was a lot lighter than he would have expected, especially with her crazy strength.

As he made his way out of the room, Sasori stopped him, injecting Sakura with something. "I don't expect you to understand. But it's an antidote to the poison I gave her- however it only works temporarily. She should be fine for the entire time we have to meet with Leader-sama, so you can stop panicking like a little girl Deidara."

"I wasn't panicking anyway Sasori no Danna! I just said that we shouldn't go and see him if his daughter can't even move is all…un." Deidara huffed, moving Sakura's weight in his arms and then hoisting her over his shoulder, allowing him to grab for a piece of clay.

**T**he resounding boom could be heard throughout the entire headquarters, and the Leader sighed in frustration as his office shook and tiny pieces of the ceiling fell around him.

Sasori was infuriated as one of his new puppets lay in ruin on the hallway floor, still smoldering. "Are you looking to be killed you idiot? What do you not understand about the fact that I am in a bad mood?! And since when do you not know your place?!"

"Hmmm… I guess since you 'died'…un. You can just blame Tobi. And I wasn't panicking!" Sasori was furious as Deidara just stalked off with Sakura, and uncoiled the rope in his stomach, sending it at his head, but Deidara turned and smirked at him, then shunshined away just before it could make contact. Sasori silently cursed Deidara for his insolence, but just stalked off to the main room, aka the Leader's office.

**"Y**ou're late. I summoned you here nearly an hour ago- is something the matter with your rings? Or did you have some sort of problem with my daughter?.." Deidara and Sasori stood before the shadowy apparition of the Leader, Sakura standing before them tied in Sasori's chakra strings.

"Um… no, uh, Tobi-san just got in the way was all..un. You know how he gets…" The Leader just nodded in sympathy. "Fine. At any rate, now that I'm back, I want to catch up with my little princess, and ask her how accommodations have been for her here, if anything needs changing, etc. You two leave. I'll summon you on your rings when you're required to come and retrieve her."

Sasori released her from the chakra strings, but before leaving leaned over her ear and whispered, "Don't forget brat what we discussed. You'd make a fine puppet.." Sakura tensed as Sasori turned and left the room after Deidara.

**"S**o… wittle pwincess! Why don't you come over here, and give Daddy a big hug, huh? And then you can tell me all about how you've been while Daddy's been gone too!"

Sakura didn't move, just glaring at the Akatsuki Leader in disgust.

He waited for a minute or so, then got up from his desk and walked over to Sakura. "You know Sakura-san, Daddy's patience can only be worn so thin…" He lectured her, his voice returning to the stern dangerous tone it took on when addressing Akatsuki members. "And after all, Daddy has had a trying day, dealing with so many incompetent fools. Don't try my patience Sakura."

She turned her face away from him in defiance, and in response he picked her up and brought her over to his desk, hitting and kicking the whole way. Yet it seemed that even though her strength had returned and she hit him with full force, the Akatsuki Leader was wholly unaffected by the attacks.

He sat down on his leather desk chair, setting her on his lap, holding her tightly in something between a violent constraint and a hug. "Now, will you spend some time with Daddy, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

Sakura still refused to turn and look at him. His patience finally wearing out, he let his grip fall from Sakura and quickly formed a series of handseals, then tapped her on her head.

The room began to spin as Sakura tried to dispel the genjutsu, to no avail. She suddenly found herself in a perfectly black expanse that looked like the inner part of her mind where Inner Sakura dwelled. Looking around, she gasped as she found Inner Sakura tied up in a corner with thick black, liquid-like ropes.

"Well now Sakura, now that we have some alone time, perhaps you'll be willing to talk to your father?.." The Leader's voice broke through her thoughts. Turning back around, she saw him standing there.

She tried to turn back around, to free Inner Sakura but found she couldn't move a muscle. "Heh, don't bother darling… Your amazing abilities won't help you here." Her father said, moving closer.

Defeated, Sakura locked eyes with him angrily and replied, "Fine, you wanna know how I've been? I hate it here! You took me away from my friends, from Naruto-kun, Ino-chan, and Kakashi-san and Tsunade-shishou too! You didn't even give me any warning; I just walk over to the training grounds, and all of a sudden I'm hit from behind, I see Okaasan there discussing some kind of paperwork, and your stupid lackeys kidnap me! And then that damned bastard puppet you have watching me keeps me tied up almost all day and all night, and drained of chakra! He threatened to turn me into a hitokugutsu if I did anything he didn't like! Oh, yeah, you're a great father…" She still couldn't move, but if she could have she probably would have broken apart half the hideout by now in her anger.

The Leader paused and looked at his daughter a bit more sympathetically. "Well, I'm sorry about your friends and all sweetheart, but after all, I can't trust that if I let you visit Konohagakure that you won't try to escape. And if you were to invite your friends here, they might cause some unwanted annoyances as well, trying to return you to what they see as your home. We'll see- if you behave, which so far you haven't been doing to my approval- then perhaps I'll allow you to see them. And as for Sasori… thank you for informing me. You needn't worry about having to remain in any of the member's rooms now, as your room is finished. And Sasori will be receiving his due."

The Leader approached Sakura and hugged her, then gave her a loving pat on the head, before performing two handseals, the genjutsu dispelling, returning Sakura and the Leader to the more familiar surroundings of the room containing the biju-sealing statue.

Sakura sighed, being able to move again, but before she could even send chakra to a fist or foot, her father warned, "Now Sakura, don't try anything smart. That little genjutsu was one of my least powerful jutsus, and if I need to, I'll use something a bit more powerful to contain you. Don't forget what I said- behave, and you'll get to see your friends again. I don't break a promise, no matter what sort of low opinion you may have of me."

**M**eanwhile, Sasori and Deidara, standing outside in the hallway, saw the rings n their fingers light up, Deidara feeling the warmth emanating from his. "Well it certainly took them long enough."

"Oh, well she was probably bragging to him about what a great artist I am, and how I'm just so hot and all that she can't take it anymore…un." Deidara smirked at Sasori, who suddenly shot out his poison-tipped stomach coil again, Deidara barely jumping back in time. Sasori glared at him with killing intent, replying lowly, "That brat would never see anything in an unskilled idiot such as yourself."

"Hey, it was a joke..un! You don't need to freak out!" Deidara was about to retaliate, but the ring on his finger started glowing brighter, signifying to the two that they were wanted immediately.

Deidara did his best to avoid Sasori, who didn't reply and glared boredly off into space, as he walked into the Leader's office.

* * *

Yeah, cliffy! I finished writing this like 10 miniutes ago, and was tired, so decided to leave it where it is till next time. Sorry if you hate me. If there's anything you really hate, lemme know!!

REVIEW!! I LOVE REVIEWS!! It's **your reviews** that convinced me to update this week even though I'm busy!!


	5. Chapter 5

Aurora:Heh, I know, I know, I updated late again!! I'm sorry!! But wow, so many reviews!...

Sasori: Pinky101, Shizu, and Shadow Quil, are you taking something? How can you like this pathetic excuse for literature?..

Aurora: Shut up asshole! hits Sasori He means thanks for the praise! And so do I!! Wow, you're so nice!! Akatsuki Fan and Sblood6, you guys too! Well, here's your update! I hope it's to your liking!

Deidara: Yondaime-kun, you'll never believe what Leader-sama does to Sasori no Danna. It's sadistic..un. I don't know if it's what you're expecting or not, but that guy's crazy though..

Aurora: nods Let's see, who else... Oh, a lot of people had comments about Leader-sama as Sakura's father, and their relationship and all- Deoxys, Leigh4, and Dokami-san. Yeah, Sakura doesn't need a kekkei-genkai.. who knows what her father could teach her. Besides, she has that crazy strength. And it is good that she wasn't always with him- he's kinda psychotic, huh? And Dokami-san, I don't know, I don't really feel bad for him. I mean, I know he's trying to be a good afther, and give Sakura what he thinks a girl her age wants/needs, but still... he left, and then began an evil organization. Does he really deserve a daughter? I'll add more backstory as time goes on, as well as more on why he gained custody. I don't want to do it all at once.

Sasori: folds arms angrily Of course, we have to wait... Typical female..

Aurora: You'd better watch it, or you're going to wish all you had to worry about was the Leader!!!

Deidara: laughs nervously Um...yeah, un. Anyways, SereneC, bingbong, and Maruken, I'm glad you think we're in character!! It'd be kind of weird if we didn't act like ourselves, huh?...un..

Sasori: You people STILL want me to be in love with that brat?! I don't feel emotions, get that through your-

Aurora: Oh, but you do. It's soo obvious Sasori. And I just thought of the perfect plot twist to have you two fall in love. rubs hands together evilly It's going to be all your fault... So yakitori, and Sinister Voices, it'll be a few more chapters until anything realllly romantic starts happening. Sorry!! But there will be more Saso/Saku. There isn't this chapter though, sorry. That's because half the chapter is.. well, you'll see. And Sinister Voices, you want it to be Dei/Saku for the other pairing? Hmmm.. okay.. Are you okay with that Deidara?

Deidara: I..I guess..un. I didn't really think of it much before now. But, if people are requesting it.. blushes

Aurora: Well, the main pairing will be Sasori and Sakura, so don't fret Deidara. hugs

Deidara: Oh, okay then...un. crestfallen

Aurora: Anyways, that's all 14 reviews for last chapter, and for the others I'll reply via PM or whatever, so on to the story!!

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 5_

**T**sunade-sama stared at the documents lying on her desk again, for what must have been the tenth time that hour. She couldn't understand how this could have happened- or why anyone would rule in favor of someone like _him_, instead of Mrs. Haruno. There must have been some pay-off.

**S**he was torn from her thoughts by loud sobbing suddenly echoing from the other end of her destroyed office. Shizune had been trying to console Sakura's mother all morning and afternoon, ever since she'd come to the Hokage's office with the paperwork from the custody hearing, sobbing and mumbling incoherently about the events of four days past.

Somehow, after a lot of coaxing, Shizune was able to get her to calm down enough to explain things to Tsunade without completely breaking down.

When Tsunade heard that Akatsuki had taken her beloved student hostage though, and legally, she went on a rampage, breaking her desk in half, breaking two windows, and leaving all of her carefully sorted papers strewn across the floor in a chaotic heap.

Afterwards, she'd read and reread the custody paperwork, trying to find some sort of loophole to get Sakura back, while Mrs. Haruno cried over in the corner. But dammit, everything seemed to be in perfect order, from what Tsunade could make of it. The Akatsuki Leader had proven that he could provide adequate shelter, food, and education for his daughter, and that in Konoha her life was in constant danger due to her job as a shinobi. Why the judge had gone along with this, Tsunade couldn't even venture to guess- _how_ many children were shinobi, and allowed to live with their parents with no problem? There was no legal way out of it though, Tsunade thought grudgingly.

"Shizune! I want you to send a messenger to Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Sai, Nara Shikamaru,… Rock Lee and Maito Gai." Tsunade recalled how Gai had been able to read the movements of Akatsuki members without looking at their faces- that would be important if they ran into the Uchiha at any point. There wasn't time for delay or injury. "Tell them to report here immediately!"

"H-hai Tsunade-sama!.." Shizune handed Sakura's mother another tissue, only adding to the foot high pile around her, as she got up cautiously and left the distressed woman's side.

Just as Shizune was about to leave the office, Tsunade got up and handed her a note. "Give that to ANBU. We'll need two squads to go ahead, and hopefully create enough distraction that the other two teams can go find Sakura." Shizune nodded and ran off to ANBU Headquarters.

**"Y**es, and she asked that you have the squads report in daily, about whether or not they have any leads as to where the Akatsuki Headquarters could be. She wants to prevent as many casualties as possible, so when they arrive, they're supposed to just try to distract and lead away as many Akatsuki as they can, so Kakashi-san and Gai-san can get their teams in there for their mission objective."

"Of course. I'll send two squads out immediately to try to track the Akatsuki that kidnapped Tsunade-sama's student." Shizune bowed in thanks, then turned and left, to return to the Hokage's office with her report.

**N**aruto was eating his fourth bowl of ramen for lunch.

Meanwhile Sai sat on a nearby stool sketching in his sketchbook, trying his best to follow the friendship tips laid out in the many guidebooks and manuals he'd read in the past few months. It wasn't easy, as Ino stood there, going on and on about some kind of flowers, and then about something regarding some random guy and two kunoichi- Sai couldn't really gather what she was talking about when she said he'd been doing them both or something. He just resorted to smiling his fake smile, and nodding every now and then, because from what he'd read, you were supposed to show interest in what others said to you, and show that you'd heard them.

**S**uddenly a Jounin came into the shop, looking haggard and trying to catch his breath. Naruto looked up for only a moment before getting back to his ramen, but Sai stared up from his sketchpad at the man, and the scroll his had clenched in his fist. Suddenly he spoke, "Urgent summons from Hokage-sama for Uzumaki Naruto and Sai."

At this, Naruto jumped up out of his seat, ramen forgotten. "Oh yeah, a mission! It's got to be! I wonder what kind?.. What do you think Sai? Tsunade-baasama said urgent, right? It must be real good! I've gotta go find Sakura!!" With that, Naruto ran off, as Sai quietly closed his sketchpad and got up to leave.

"Aw..Sai-san, do you really have to leave so soon? I was having such a nice time talking to you.." Ino whined, latching onto Sai's forearm. "After all, Naruto left to go find Forehead-girl, so you don't have to go yet…"

"I'm sorry, but Hokage-sama's message required our urgent attention." He tried to remember what those books said to do in situations like these, but nothing really clear was coming. "Um, it was nice talking to you too, and.. sorry, but maybe some other time." He turned towards Ino and gave her a huge smile, under which she just about melted.

"Okay… But remember, you promised Sai-san!" Ino replied in a seductive voice. She let go, and he walked off towards the Hokage's office, mentally kicking himself. He'd be spending the next week in the library, re-reading those social skills books, that's for sure.

**T**sunade sat impatiently behind her desk, fuming. It wasn't like Naruto to be late for a mission briefing. Kakashi she could understand- but even he had arrived already, and was standing in one corner reading his book. Sai sat stoically in a chair, with Shikamaru leaned back and half asleep in the one next to him. And she wasn't even going to try to figure out what the hell Maito Gai and Rock Lee were doing.

**F**inally, Naruto burst through the door, hyperventilating. "Sorry Baa-sama, but I looked everywhere for Sakura, and I couldn't find her! I even checked at the hospital."

"Naruto, sit down." Tsunade said sternly, her voice leaving no room for argument unless someone wanted to have their head bashed in, and then be thrown out of a window.

Naruto looked at her for a moment, but actually did go and sit down. That didn't mean he kept quiet though. "So, what's the mission? And where's Sakura?! Is she on some special top-secret mission doing medic-nin stuff? Oh, and Fuzzy-Brows, you're here too!..."

"Yosh! Hello Naruto-san! Gai-sensei and I are here to spread the springtime of youth!"

"Naruto, perhaps it'd be better if you were quiet so Hokage-sama can explain our mission to us.." Kakashi broke in, closing his book and smiling at Naruto.

"Oh, yeah… Sorry… So what is it?!"

Tsunade massaged her temples for a moment, before starting. "Four and a half days ago, Akatsuki entered the outskirts of Konoha, somehow undetected. At approximately 8am this past Saturday, two Akatsuki delivered papers to the Haruno household. Afterwards, they went to the training grounds where Haruno Sakura was getting ready to train, and after arguing with her mother, took her with them to God knows where. I'd given Sakura off yesterday, so had no way of knowing anything was wrong until she didn't show up today. That was when Shizune found her mother at home, barely able to stand from her shock and trauma, and brought her here. She explained everything to us, and gave us these."

Tsunade held out the custody settlement paperwork, which Kakashi approached to look at, while continuing, "It seems her father has regained custody of her, somehow… Even though her biological father turns out to be the leader of Akatsuki."

Naruto's and Lee's eyes grew big as saucers, and Naruto jumped up about to say something, but Tsunade held up her hand to stop him. "We don't know why he would suddenly want her back, or how he did it. But one thing is for sure- we can't let her stay with Akatsuki, while they try to twist her to their will! I'm sending all of you to retrieve her. Two ANBU squads have been sent ahead, to attempt to locate Akatsuki, and distract them as much as possible during your rescue. Naruto, you have to be extra careful, because although I know you killed one of them, many of them could be more powerful than he was- and they still want Kyuubi. Under no circumstances are you to put your own life in danger! This could be exactly what they want! You are to leave immediately, and will be in contact with ANBU. Dismissed!"

"But how can he be her father?!"

"Yes, Sakura-san is far too nice to have a father such as him!"

"And, and… How could nobody know that she was taken?!.. Well, I promise, I'll get her back from those assholes, no matter what, dattebayo!!"

Kakashi shook his head in disbelief as he handed the paperwork to Shikamaru to look over. Sai just sat there indifferently, doing his best to ignore Naruto's yelling and punching of the air.

"They probably either used a genjutsu or a henge," Shikamaru replied offhandedly. "Nobody would even suspect them when you think about it and since they obviously had legal permission to enter the village, all they had to do was show paperwork stating they had legal business here. The guards wouldn't have thought to stop them. Akatsuki again… how troublesome."

Kakashi walked over and led Naruto from the room, everyone else following soon after. 'Naruto was right though,' Kakashi thought to himself. 'They would get Sakura back. He wasn't going to lose another student to sadistic freaks.'

**T**he Leader picked his daughter up off of his lap and brushed her off to the side as Sasori and Deidara entered the room. Folding his shadowy hands tightly on his desk, he addressed them, "well, Sasori-san, Deidara-san. Your report?.. How had my daughter faired these past few days? I hope the transition has been easy enough on her and she's adjusted well."

Sasori just stood there indifferently; Deidara glanced at him nervously for a moment before starting, "Um..yeah she's adjusted great, un! I gave her a little tour, and she met everyone who's here and uh… she's had tons of fun playing with Sasori no Danna's stupid _dolls_." Pleased at his cover-up, Deidara gave a satisfied smirk.

"Really? That certainly isn't what I heard Deidara-san."

Deidara's face fell, and Sasori started, a look of shock coming over his face for a moment before it was replaced with comprehension and hatred as he turned to glare at the mass of pink poking out beside Leader-sama. He should have known the little brat wouldn't keep her mouth shut, even under threat of death; not that it mattered.

"At any rate Deidara-san, for now, I want you to take adorable little Sakura to her new room. It's where Hidan's and Kakuzu's used to be- the wall has just been knocked out. If you see Itachi-san or Kisame-san on the way, hand her over to them to be escorted to her quarters. When you are done, you are to return directly here. Now go."

Deidara walked grudgingly up to Sakura and took her unwilling hand, leading her from the room to Sasori's glare and low, "Don't take long. You know how I hate waiting."

**S**akura walked in silence towards her new room, relishing that look Sasori had given her. He must have been ticked, and good- he deserved every bit of whatever was coming to him.

"You know, you caused big problems Sakura-san..un. You haven't seen Leader-sama when he gets angry. And I don't get it, I did everything he told me, what the hell is your problem, un?" Deidara opened the door to what was supposedly Sakura's new room.

"What I told my father was mostly about Sasori. Whatever he does, I don't think you have to worry Deidara-san. …Wow…"

**A**s Deidara followed her into the room, he couldn't help but agree with her awe. His room was about the size of the walk-in closet he could see on her far wall. As he walked closer, he could see it was laden with every skirt, top, dress, and kimono a girl could ever want, with matching shoes and purse for each outfit. Their were two fur coats, and three Akatsuki cloaks near the back, next to an open area with a vanity lining one wall of the closet. Next to that was another door, which Deidara guessed was a bathroom- after all, Sakura wouldn't need another closet.

The room itself was bright and airy, with a king-sized bed sitting in its center. It was filled with lace pillows in pink, red, and black, and a silk comforter with a hand stitched design of a cherry blossom grove at daybreak on it. There was a fireplace on the wall adjacent the bed, and two downy chairs that Deidara had to use all his willpower not to go sink into. There were also two expensive looking dressers, and a longer, matching table on the other wall. The walls themselves were painted with an intricately detailed cherry blossom mural, which made Deidara a little peeved. After all, he and Sasori no Danna hadn't been asked to do the artwork for the room; but then again, although he knew he could have done a better job, art wasn't meant to last, and Leader probably didn't want his daughter's new room blown up before she could even use it.

"..Nice room..un. Guess it pays to be someone like that's daughter, huh?" Sakura just stood there, still taking it all in, and Deidara left, closing the door loudly behind him; he didn't want to keep the Leader waiting too long, and make him think he'd gotten lost somewhere.

**"G**ood, Deidara-san, you're back. Now, it comes to my attention that for some odd reason, my orders were expressly disobeyed these past three days. I've been informed that my darling little girl was kept locked in your room Sasori-san, made to stay in a corner, and poisoned to drain her chakra. That you didn't even want her leaving to use the bathroom. And that you Deidara-san, did almost nothing to rectify this situation."

"No, that's not true Leader-sama! I-"

The Leader held up his and to silence him. "Deidara if I'm in error, then why was my child kept in such conditions?.."

"Well, I tried arguing with Sasori no Danna about it, but he said she needed to stay..un! So I convinced him to give her bathroom breaks and all. I did like you told us to..un!"

Sasori shrugged nonchalantly. "I was merely teaching her an important and valuable life lesson Leader-sama." He replied confidently. "She needs to learn her place and learn to respect her elders."

Deidara glared daggers at Sasori, but the Leader merely replied, "Is that so Sasori?... Well, have you ever considered that maybe she isn't the only one who doesn't know her place?"

In the blink of an eye, the Leader was up and had moved to stand a few feet in front of Sasori- still completely hidden by shadows of course, even though there were few in this particular part of the room. He went through a series of hand signs so fast the motion of his hands was no more than a blur, and suddenly the scrolls on Sasori's back were ablaze.

Sasori threw off his cloak as it began to burn, and tried to throw off the burning scrolls, panicking that his wooden body would go up too. His hands caught on fire as he threw the scrolls to the floor.

"Aah, Sasori no Danna, you're burning...un!' Deidara quickly took off his own cloak as well, and rushed over to try to put down the flames with it.

**A**fter a few tense minutes of Deidara's cloak catching on fire, Sasori telling him off and threatening to kill him for his idioacy, and Sasori rolling around on the floor looking like a complete idiot while Deidara used an earth-based jutsu to collect some dirt and dump it on the flames, the fire was finally put out. The entire room smelt of burnt cedar and melting iron.

**O**nce the danger was passed, Deidara used another basic jutsu and cleared the room of the dirt- then laughed when he saw Sasori. "Damn, you have really bad luck… un. First the girl, now this. Really, I'm right about art. You should just give up at this point…un."

He shook his head in mock sympathy at Sasori, whose entire back had been burnt through, revealing the cavity inside that held the coiled rope in his stomach, as well as his 'heart'. The back of it had been nearly singed by the fire. His hair was full of dirt, and the entire back had been burnt off, just like his back, although on his head, the wood had remained, a dark blackened color. All of his puppet scrolls had been burned too, so aside from the few in his room at the moment, he'd be having to start his collection over- again.

"Well, you're lucky that you're such a useful member of this organization under most circumstances. Or I would have killed you. Remember that for next time Sasori-san. You will be doing all of the cooking and cleaning for the next month, and Deidara will aid you. However, do not think of using Deidara-san as a scapegoat. Deidara, you will be in charge of Sakura-san and her well-being- and I expect you to do a better job than you have been doing so far. Now, the two of you are dismissed. Get out of my sight.."

The Leader turned and walked slowly back to his desk.

Deidara moved to help Sasori get up, but Sasori hit Deidara's hand away and got up, struggling, on his own. His joints just didn't want to function properly after that intense heat; the metal had probably melted together in some spots. But Sasori certainly didn't need anyone's help to get up. Deidara just smirked and left the room, with Sasori ambling after him.

That girl was certainly going to pay for this. So he couldn't outright torture her to teach her what her place was- fine. There were other ways that he could manage to get to her, he'd just need to plan things out a bit more. And he'd have plenty of time during the next month of mindless domestic chores. Leader would never even realize….

* * *

Yeah, I added in Konoha. I was planning to add them right from the start, but didn't want to add them too early on. I wanted to project that the story's main focus is Sasori and Sakura. I think I may have waited TOO long though- but was able to use Mrs. Haruno as an excuse. Don't know if it was a believable one though...

As for what the Leader did to Sasori... I don't think he would outright kill him. Besides, if he did, that would kind of ruin my story, lol. But what he did was just about as bad, and pretty sadistic. Sorry if it wasn't what you were expecting- but I've been thinking on this for almost two weeks, trying to figure out what the hell to have Leader-sama do!! It finally came to me, and that's that. I may be wayyy off, but oh well.

REVIEW!!! Tell me what you like and dislike:)


	6. Chapter 6

Aurora: Heh, sorry for the delay everyone...

Sasori: The very long delay...

Aurora: Yeah, whatever. I had my reasons Sasori- term papers, exams, and now trying to find a freakin' summer course, so go to hell. I am sorry though everyone for taking so long to update.

Deidara: I really don't like this chapter...un.

Sasori: I don't either.

Aurora: Hotaru of the Akatsuki, Dokami-san, Sinister Voices, and Aldrian, you'll be getting a little bit of that DeixSaku you wanted so much... Don't worry, there will be more in later chapters. I know the way I wrote it, you're probably worried that that's it, and I'm moving on to SasoxSaku. But no worries!

Deidara: Yeah, can we talk about something else please..un? Mrs. Cake and Sinister Voices, I don't know... Sasori no Danna can be pretty mean sometimes, but then again, he already tried that, and look what happened. I don't think Sakura-san has to fear for her life...

Sasori: Speak for yourself. Of course, I was barely in this chapter, so I couldn't show anyone just how vindictive I can be.

Aurora: Please. It's sooo obvious what you wanna do. And Dei's right, you can't kill Sakura or anything. So ha! Now, Teges and Minikitteno5, you were talking about what happened to Sasori. Eh, I wouldn't worry about him.. He's fine now. But as for the Leader, quite frankly, I was having like writer's block or something, and couldn't think of anything more 'evil' for him to use. 'm sorry if it didn't seem interesting... I tried, but we don't know much of anything about the Leader- and I doubt he'd use his best jutsus on Akatsuki members(or anyone) anyway, since he likes being all secretive. I'm glad you liked it Sinister Voices... but now I'm torn as to whether I'm bastardizing the poor guy or not!...

Deidara: -smirking- Totally bastardizing him..un. That chapter was pathetic. -laughing-

Sasori: So is this one.

Aurora: -glaring at Sasori- Anyway, Pinky101, AkatsukiDreamer, Sweet Assassin, Skilled Defense, and Hotaru, I'm glad you guys liked the chapter! And Hotaru, your story is really great too, so don't feel so bad. As for SkilledDefense... Konoha isn't in this chapter. But, they will be i n the next one, because it is important to see what's happening there too. They would come after her, obviously.

Deidara: Hmph, yeah, Sakura-san is lucky..un. I wish Kakuzu was still around, he'd flip at all that stuff in her room. Probably have a heart attack in all 5 hearts...

Aurora: He probably would... Anyways, time to get on to the story. But first...Dokami-san, I added in lots of Zetsu... but I don't know, I don't think I did a very good job of writing for him... I'm sorry. And Aldrian... I don't know if you remember our conversation at school a few weeks ago or not. But you said DeixSaku would be easier to do, so I should just change the story to that. I thought about what you said, and well... I'm not changing it. No offense. But I can write a believable SasoxSaku fic, because well, lots of times there is a thin line between love and hate. He may hate her now, but just wait and see, it'll all work out after a while. His hating her means nothing, if I work things the right way...

Sakura: -hands out copies of the chapter-

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of Deidara and the recently returned Sasori, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 6_

"**U**gh, just put it on already..un. It's not like it's going to bite you." Deidara rolled his eyes at the Akatsuki cloak he had handed Sakura moments before, which now lay in a tangled heap on her bed, along with all the other Akatsuki attire, as though her glaring at it would make it move, or shrivel up and die, or something. "You can't be walking all around the place without it. It was one thing when you were in Sasori no Danna's room, and just going to the bathroom, but if you wanna walk around, you gotta wear it..un." He nodded for emphasis, smirking at her adamant refusal to wear the clothing all the while. It only served to make Sakura even more ticked off however.

"I don't care, I'm not going to wear this damned thing!" Sakura threw the cloak at the unsuspecting Deidara with such force that he nearly fell to the ground as the rolled up garment hit the side of his head.

He pulled the piece of clothing off of his head, smoothing out his hair angrily with his free hand. "You've caused enough problems already..un. I'm not going to bear the brunt of any more of this crap, that's for sure. Just put it on. Or stay in your room forever..un. You have a bathroom here, so you don't even have an excuse to leave." Deidara did his best to control his temper as Sakura glared off into space, doing her best to look like she was ignoring him. But Leader-sama sure as hell wouldn't appreciate coming back to find his daughter a blackened hole in the floor.

Instead, Deidara took the cloak, and threw it back at Sakura, startling her as she turned and it nearly hit her in the face. "Hey, watch it you creep!" She yelled, throwing the cloak forcefully to the ground as she stood from the bed.

"Put it _on_!...un!.." Deidara half yelled, half whined in impatience. He stalked over and grabbed the cloak from the floor, only to be punched across the room by Sakura.

"Go screw yourself! You sound like some pervert in a strip club! You're worse than Naruto, Sai, and Jiraiya-san combined!"

"Hmph, I guess you'd know, huh Sakura-san? Though I can't really see how you made a career out of it with your 'attributes'..un." Deidara said derisively, while rubbing the side of his head. _'Seems the little brat got her chakra back… I hope the hell Kisame-san gets back soon..'_

Sakura balled up her fists and ran at Deidara on the far side of the room, ready to beat the living hell out of him, but just as she was about to land her punches, he shunshined from his spot on the floor, and appeared behind her, throwing the cloak over her head and wrestling to put it on her properly. The two continued struggling with the cloak, finally winding up in a tangled heap on the floor- though as Deidara noted with satisfaction, he finally had gotten the cloak all the way on to the frustrated kunoichi.

Feeling Sakura tense, and anticipating another painful blow, Deidara reached awkwardly over her leg and to his clay pouch. Not that he would blow her up, but still, a guy had to defend himself. But just as he finally reached the pouch, Sakura did something strange- she started laughing hysterically. Deidara sat up quickly, Sakura falling off of him onto the floor in the process. He stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out if he'd broken her or something. Although he had to admit she had a beautiful laugh, melodic and explosive, it didn't make sense. "Hey, um.. are you high or something…un? 'Cause if someone put something in your food…."

Sakura struggled to stop her laughter long enough to get a few words out, finally calming down. "N-no… I'm just.. r-really ticklish is all…." It felt good to laugh, even though Sakura was still ticked off about her situation- but it helped to relieve her off all of that bottled up anger and depression that had seemed ready to explode.

Deidara just stared at her for a moment, then turning, opened the door to leave the room. "Whatever…un. Look, I'll be back in 10 minutes to bring you to eat, just be dressed." He didn't let her see the pleased smile on his face.

"**No Tobi, you're already too hyper."**_"Oh, what difference will it make anyway? Nobody can get more hyper than this…"_, Zetsu's white half sighed, _"just let him have it so he'll quiet down."_ "Tobi wants dessert!! Can Tobi have dessert Zetsu-san?! Oh, hello Sakura-chan!!" Tobi cried, bouncing up and down next to a very annoyed looking Zetsu. Sakura waved at Tobi, and moved to sit down as far away as she could from Zetsu, when Tobi tackled her in a huge hug and sent her sprawling to the floor. Deidara started to laugh at Sakura, who tried to push Tobi off of her to no avail.

**D**eidara heard a noise in the kitchen, and walked away from the scene at hand, shaking his head, thankful that at least he wasn't stuck with that psycho anymore. "Hey, Sasori no Danna, what are you doing..un?"

A disheveled looking Sasori stood over the sink, a mountain of dishes before him, old sauces and pieces of rotting food clinging to the plastic. Sasori didn't even deign Deidara the grace of turning to him, and replied gruffly, "What the hell does it look like you brat? I've been slaving away in this godforsaken room all day, no thanks to you. Cooking, cleaning-"

"Oh, that reminds me..un. Can you get me and Sakura-san some breakfast? I don't know, waffles or something…" Deidara leaned against the wall, smirking at Sasori's situation. That is, until one of the disgusting plastic dinner plates sailed right at his head. Deidara dodged it easily and turned around, "Hmph, fine. And to think I was almost gonna offer to help you..un."

"I don't need or want your help. Just leave me alone." Sasori shook the water off of his drenched hands and walked after Deidara to the dining room, stopping in the doorway.

"**Tobi, get off of the Leader's daughter right now. It really doesn't look right…"**_"Oh, he's only trying to show how happy he is to see his friend, get over it. Though it does look pretty wrong.."_**"I won't get over it, look at what happened to Sasori-san for mistreating her."**_"Well fine, then you get him off, but I'm not getting involved_._" _Zetsu sat arguing with himself in the corner, before finally getting up and walking over to Tobi and Sakura. **"Come on Tobi, I'll let you have some dessert now if you leave her alone. And then we can go outside or something." **

Tobi immediately jumped off of Sakura. She got up, angrily brushing herself off, and sat down across the table from where Zetsu had been seated, next to where Deidara had just plopped himself. Tobi ran over to the far end of the dining room where desserts were sitting on one of the long tables.

"Oh, hello Tobi-san." Sasori remarked indifferently as Tobi ran by.

"Hello Sasori-san!! How are you? Would you like some dessert?! Tobi is going to have some of everything, but Tobi is willing to share." _"Of course Tobi, because you're a good boy." _Tobi nodded vehemently at Zetsu's statement.

"Um, no, that's quite alright Tobi. But once you're done getting your desserts, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course Sasori-san!" Tobi said through mouthfuls of rich chocolate layer cake which he was already shoveling into his mouth. He took 3 pieces of cake, two cupcakes, two brownies, and some pudding, and walked over to Sasori.

"Now, Tobi, after all of that dessert that I made, you don't want to leave me to have to do all of the dishes, do you?" Sasori remarked in a low voice. "I have so many chores to do, I haven't been able to work on my puppets for days. I was just wondering if you'd be willing to, I guess you could say help me out a little, after I made you all of that cake." After all, Leader-sama had only told Sasori he couldn't force Deidara into menial labor; nothing had been said about Tobi, regardless of his stupidity and will to please. Tobi, who had so much cake in his mouth now that cake was covering that area of the floor, could only nod. Under his mask, he was smiling widely, but of course, nobody could see.

"Good. All of those dishes need to be washed. Don't take too long either, because then I need your help in cleaning the bathrooms." Sasori walked out of the kitchen and sat down at the card table opposite Zetsu, quite satisfied with himself. Meanwhile, Tobi had run into the kitchen, put on a flowery apron, and started washing the dishes, happily singing some strange song to himself and getting chocolate cake all over the sink.

"You can't force him to help you Sasori-san. I heard about what Leader said, and your punishment-"

Sasori waved him off. "Leader-sama told me Deidara couldn't help. And after all, Tobi-san is so willing and eager. Do you really want me to tell him now that he can't wash dishes? He feels obligated, and you're the one always telling him he's good or whatnot."

"Yeah, I think Tobi-baka could use some manual labor..un. At least he'll be stuck here all day and I won't have to deal with all his bullshit."

Zetsu frowned at the two artists and walked over to the kitchen. **"Tobi, you don't have to do that you know. Sasori-san is supposed to, and it was wrong of him to trick you into washing the dishes."**_"Yes, you're still a good boy Tobi, so come on, let's go outside."_

"No, Tobi is having fun Zetsu-san!! Please let Tobi wash the dishes!! We can go for a walk later, right?!" Zetsu's white half just sighed at the sight before him, and as he turned said, **"Of course Tobi. Just don't make a mess."**

Sakura meanwhile was rubbing her head. "Something wrong Sakura-san..un?" "Well, yeah! First you, trying to undress me or whatever the hell, and you knocked me onto the floor." That caught Sasori's attention and he looked up and glared at Deidara. "Then Tobi hugs me and I'm on the floor under someone again! What is this, assault Sakura day?!"

Deidara laughed awkwardly, worried about what sort of repercussions this could have. "No, no.. That was just an accident you know. And Tobi, well, he just has problems as you can see..un."

**Z**etsu interrupted them, **"Well, I'm going outside now; need to scout the area and get some sun. Make sure Tobi doesn't overdo it."**_"Sakura-san, it was nice to see you again."_ He looked at her for a moment with hunger in his eyes, and then was gone.

Sakura shivered. "Heh, can we get out of here. That was.. really screwed up. What the hell is with him?"

"Sure we can." Deidara got up from his chair, going over to Sakura and gently taking her arm.

**A**s he led her comfortingly from the room, he glanced back at Sasori who was staring daggers into his back, and smiled. "Zetsu-san just has an eating disorder is all. Nothing to worry about- unless you happen to find yourself alone with him at night or something...un. Looks like he really wanted to eat you."

"What?! He.._eats_ people?!" Sakura detached herself from Deidara's grip and stared at him in disbelief. She felt a little sick to her stomach, recalling the look he'd given her.

"Yep, eats people. But don't worry, I'll protect you..un. Can't let your father come back and find out I let you become dinner." Deidara smiled, genuinely, and took Sakura's arm again, leading her out of the hall.

**S**akura sat on her bed while Deidara sat cross-legged against the opposite wall, both of them just staring off into space. "Well this is exciting…un." Deidara broke through the silence. "What the hell do you normally do for fun in your village, just sat around looking at the walls?"

"No!" Sakura replied defensively. It was bad enough that she was stuck here; she didn't need anyone insulting Konoha on top of it. "I visit with my friends and we talk a lot… And sometimes when I visit Ino-pig at the flower shop, I help her with the flowers and stuff, and she always knows all the latest gossip." Deidara tut-tutted, shaking his head sadly. "Well, wait, we do other stuff too! Um, we train a lot, and I work for Tsunade-sama at the hospital and she was teaching me lots of different jutsus. And sometimes I go out to Ichiraku ramen with Naruto-kun and Sai-san.."

Deidara got up from his place along the wall. "Damn, you Konoha-nin don't know how to have fun, huh?" He grabbed her by the arm again, pulling her off the bed and leading her out of the room. Normally she would have fought back, but she was bored as anything, and curious to see where Deidara was taking her.

"**I** would've brought you to do some medical ninjutsu or something, but that's boring. I guess if you wanna help the medic-nins you can, but on some day when I don't have to watch you and sit through all that. Besides, Hidan is better off the way he is..un." Sakura just looked at him for a moment, uncomprehending.

"Heh, nevermind..un. Anyway, sounds like your life in Konoha was kinda pointless." He led her into a large, messy room filled with art supplies. "I figured I could teach you how to sculpt, or if you really want, to paint or something. But that's not as expressive, really, and we could do that any time…un. Have you ever done anything with art before?"

Sakura shook her head, remembering the huge bird Deidara had rode on when Gaara had been taken, remembering the clay bunshin, the tiny little birds that flew around as though they were real- and then would explode. Learning how exactly his jutsu worked would be a great benefit to Konoha, if she ever wound up getting out of this place. "No, I haven't, but I'd love to learn though. I don't really know anyone in Konoha involved with art, except for Sai-san. He has this sketchbook that he's always drawing in.." She was careful not to give too much information on Sai's jutsus, or anyone's jutsus for that matter.

"Well, you're lucky. You've got the best art teacher around…un. Anyway, here's a piece of clay." He went to a table on the nearest wall and came back with a chunk of clay, putting it into her hand. "Sit down..un. You can play around with it for a few minutes, get a feel for it, and then I'll show you what to do."

**S**oon Sakura forgot about her initial intent of learning Deidara's jutsus to undermine Akatsuki, becoming completely engrossed in what Deidara was showing her. It was fun, and even though she continuously screwed up at first, he didn't seem to mind, carefully going back over the same directions for her until she seemed to get it. "Well you seem to get it. Just let me know if you need anything..un." Deidara got up and moved to the desk right next to the one Sakura was seated at, grabbing a huge piece of clay of his own. She had to admit she was a bit disappointed that he moved away, but she kept working at the clay sculpture she was making, time passing away unnoticed.

**D**eidara got up and moved over to the other table. "It's kinda late, so we should probably go get dinner..un. But since you seem to have such an affinity for art," Sakura glanced down at the 'thing' in her hands- it looked halfway between an alien and a dodo bird.

"Alright, I guess I'm ready for some food." She threw the sculpture onto the desk before her, and walked out of the room.

"**H**ey, Sasori no Danna, me and Sakura-san want some food…un."

"That's nice. What do I look like, your slave? Go and make it yourself. Or Tobi is still in the kitchen, perhaps he can make you dinner." Sasori returned to the conversation he'd been having with Zetsu, acting as though Deidara and Sakura weren't even there.

"Hmm… Well, you don't wanna have what Tobi-baka cooks, believe me. I was in a coma for 4 days, and couldn't walk for another week." Sakura stared at the kitchen in shock. "Well, we could go out to get something… Only thing is, you'll run away..un." Sakura didn't argue, there was no point- anyone with half a brain knew she would leave the first chance she got. "Well, I'll go and get you something then. Hey. Zetsu-san, Sasori no Danna, I need to go out for a little while. Watch the girl, okay?"

"_Sure."_ **"What do you mean, sure? That's his job! Like hell I'm going to-"** _"Don't worry, we'll watch her. Now shut up." _Sakura watched Deidara go uneasily, then went to sit at one of the empty tables. "Brat, how are we supposed to watch you if you're over there? Come and sit here now, you can't be trusted."

"Neither can you!" Sakura yelled.

"Please, I'm not going to do anything with Zetsu-san here, and besides, you father was very clear in his intentions. You don't have anything to worry about brat." Sasori looked ready to grab her with chakra strings again.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll sit by you two. Enough with the damned puppet stuff! You'd better not try anything though, or you're dead!" Sakura got up and moved to the adjacent card table, pulling her chair out so that she wasn't too close to either Zetsu or Sasori.

**S**akura could hardly wait until Deidara returned. Sitting by those two was unnerving. "Hey, Sakura-san, I didn't know what you like, but I got some sushi, and some dango too…un." "That's fine, let's go." Sakura jumped up form her seat and dragged Deidara from the room, opting to eat in her room instead.

"**A**w, this is so romantic Sakura-san." Deidara laughed. They were sitting across from each other on the floor, eating their food out of paper Chinese food containers. Deidara had lit one of the candles that just happened to be sitting in the room, saying the overheard light was so cold and unartistic looking.

"Shut up. I just didn't want to sit there with Sasori and Mr. Psycho Fly-trap."

"Uh-huh. That's okay…un. I understand if you're embarrassed about our little candlelight dinner for two." Deidara just smirked, and having finished his food, got up to throw it out. "I'll be back in the morning, and then we can go work on your sculpting again after breakfast. Or if you wanna do that stupid medic stuff, I'll bring you over there. But that's so boring and unexpressive really…un. Anyways, goodnight Sakura-san."

"Yeah, whatever. The art thing sounds fine. See you tomorrow."

"**I** don't know, I can't do this.. Yours looks so much better… Ugh, this is so annoying!" Sakura threw the clay onto the floor, sending it splattering all over her white leggings and the bottom of her cloak.

Frustrated she turned to leave the room when Deidara stooped down and picked up the piece of clay. He took her two hands in his, trying not to let the mouths bite her. "Here, I'll show you how it's done…un."

Sakura was growing uncomfortable with the thought of those mouths on his hands being wrapped around her own though, "Could you let go of me? I mean, no offense or anything but your hands… Um.." Sakura said awkwardly, dropping her hands from his grip.

He moved from behind her so that she would be able to see more easily what he was doing with the clay, and looked at her to make sure she was paying attention. "Just watch. It isn't so hard..un." She looked up into his eyes apologetically, and as Deidara looked back into her deep emerald ones, all thought of helping her with the clay suddenly left his mind. Before he even knew what he was doing, he dropped the clay and grabbed her chin, tilting it upwards and kissing her. It was forceful and impulsive, just like any of his explosions.

Before things could go any farther, past an innocent peck on the lips though, Sakura broke away, shoving him in the chest. "Sasori was right about you!! I can't believe it! I can't believe that I was so stupid!!!"

Sakura bolted from the room, leaving a stunned Deidara looking after her. It wasn't as though he had done anything wrong to her, in his mind. It was just a simple kiss, in the heat of the moment, and for a few seconds, Sakura had seemed to enjoy it too.

Sakura wouldn't open the door to her room for dinner that night, or for breakfast the next morning. She sat up half the night, enraged at the liberties Deidara had taken, and enraged that she hadn't been more wary of getting close to him. _'I can't believe that jerk was right though! But, but for Deidara to just kiss me.. My first kiss, and he had to take it?!'_**'Well we'll probably never see Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun again, the way things look. And besides, aside from maybe Sasuke-kun's older brother- and he's so scary, what's his deal?!- who else here is even worth the time of day? But admit it, Deidara-san isn't so bad.' **_'Not so bad?But he-!'_** 'Hmph, I don't know, I think you should just admit you liked all the attention..' **_'Whose side are you on anyway?!'_

"I don't know what to do..un. Am I supposed to go and apologize? I mean, it's not like I did anything wrong, what the hell does she want? But I don't wanna end up on Leader-sama's 'list' or anything..un." Deidara sat at one of the tables with his head propped in his hands, complaining to Zetsu and Sasori, while Tobi sang away in the kitchen again.

"What exactly did you do?"

"**I saw her running to her room when I came back in, and she didn't look very happy."**

"I, well… we were working on some clay sculptures, and she needed help. And I went to show her, but then I kissed her. But the way she was looking at me, you could tell she wanted it too..un!" Deidara sat up, trying to defend himself.

"**You must be crazy… The Leader's daughter."**_"Well, I would go and apologize, but give it a little time. Girls can be a little emotional when it comes to things like this. She probably wasn't expecting you to kiss her, and you thought she was. Just a misunderstanding.."_

In the kitchen, Deidara heard Tobi's song change, as bits of 'Deidara-senpai and Sakura-san, sitting in a tree' wafted into the dining room.

"I'm gonna kill him..un!" Deidara grabbed a piece of clay from his pouch, shoving it into his hand as he got up, stalking into the kitchen. As sounds of an explosion, and Tobi's cries were heard, Sasori got up and silently left the room.

**S**akura awoke to the sound of soft knocking on her door. "I said earlier, I'm not hungry, so you can go-"

"I'm not here to feed you brat," was heard through the door. "I merely came to see what sort of damage had been done."

Sakura paused for a moment, then against her better judgment went to go unlock the door. She hated Sasori, but he had been right, and she could use someone to talk to right about now- anyone but Deidara. Besides, she wasn't going to let her guard down, and Sasori had strict orders not to harm her. "Hello Sasori-san. You don't have to worry, I'm fine. You were right though…"

"Of course. But as I've told you before, women like to do pointless, stupid things. Putting your trust in Deidara proves it."

Sakura just slammed the door in his face, going back to sulking, her stomach grumbling in protest.

* * *

Eh, I don't know, I really didn't like this chapter. But everyone wanted DeixSaku romance, and Deidara seems like the type to rush into things and act on impulse too. Just so happens that something like that is hard for me to write... So yeah, I think it sucked, but did my absolute best to capture Dei's personality in that type of situation. I can't wait to write the SasoxSaku parts... but that won't come for another few chapters. Don't worry DeixSaku fans, their little fling isn't over, it's just getting started. :)

So, REVIEW!!! You can go ahead and tell me you hated this, and that it sucked... Whatever, I know it did. But I had to get another chapter out, and did my best..


	7. Chapter 7

Aurora: Yeah, I know, I know, this chapter is late... late again. -glares at Sasori- Don't you dare even start!

Deidara: Yeah Dokami-san, I know what ya mean..un. Felt rushed to me too. -blushes-

Sasori: pinky101, BloodBlossom, SugarChaos, and DudettRin101... I'm sure Aurora-san is falling over with joy for your wonderful comments on her story. Only thing is- she doesn't deserve your praise.

Aurora: Ew, I hate you... Artemis-kibasgirlfriend, and donkey, I'm glad you liked the Tobi and Zetsu parts!! And donkey, you're right, he did acknowledge that Sakura was a good ninja, he did have respect for her... But hell, after months of waiting to be put back into a body, and after having to restart his puppet collection from scratch, he's well... ticked.

Sasori: Ticked doesn't even begin to cover it. And yaki, you want more of me and Sakura?

Deidara: You want me to get lost?... -cries-

Aurora: Sinister Voices and Heartless-Girl, I'm glad you liked the part with Deidara and Sakura! Eh, don't worry about Sasori, he can't feel pain, lol. And yeah, I hate those stories where Sasori acts all lovey dovey right away, making Sakura dance dressing her, up, etc. etc. Drives me nuts...

Sasori: Let's not even talk about that. Can we get on with the story already?

Sakura: -hands out copies of the chapter-

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

**_Daughter of the Dawn _**

_Chapter 7_

**H**unger finally drove Sakura from her room the next afternoon. She stalked angrily towards the dining hall, berating herself for not being able to hold out more than a day and a half without food- they must have put something in it, she normally wasn't so dependent on food. She was broken suddenly from her thoughts when her face met the floor.

"Sakura-san!! You're okay! Tobi was so worried, but Zetsu-san said you'd be fine, but I didn't know… I made you a get well soon card, and drew you a plant because Zetsu-san doesn't let Tobi pick real ones..!", As Sakura struggled to get her head out from under him, and get some breathing room, Tobi eagerly shoved a poorly drawn.. plant?...Sakura couldn't really tell quite frankly, as well as a get well card drawn on pink construction paper with the word 'soon' misspelled in her face.

"Um… that, that's great Tobi-san. Thank you." Tobi beamed. "But um, do you think I could get up, so I could see your gifts better and all?.." Sakura said, hiding her annoyance with a little too much sweetness in her voice. Tobi didn't seem to notice though.

"Oh, of course Sakura-san! Tobi is glad to let you see better!" He was immediately off of her, and grabbed her hand, pulling her up from the floor. Sakura made to brush herself off, but before she could even do that, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, Tobi was wondering! Would Sakura-san go and train with Tobi?! Nobody else will, and I'm bored…. Pleaseee, Sakura-san?!"

Sakura stared at Tobi for a moment, as her stomach grumbled. But he looked so desperate. "Alright…. But only for a little while, because I need to eat, okay?"

"Okay!" Tobi eagerly grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her towards the courtyard Akatsuki used to train, in between the two rocky outcroppings with caves that made up the hideout.

**"D**eidara, where pray tell is the brat?" Sasori leaned in the doorframe to Deidara's room impatiently, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"What do you mean Sasori no Danna…un? She's in her room, same as yesterday…" Deidara continued playing around with the piece of clay he had, molding it, and smashing it again, feeling completely lethargic and uninspired. He wanted to make Sakura a sculpture to apologize, yet at the same time couldn't figure out what to make, feared reminding her of their little 'art lesson' would only make things worse, and didn't feel right about making art to last. In other words, the whole thing with Sakura had left him a mess. He began sculpting the clay again as Sasori broke into his thoughts, "You know of course that she isn't in her room..."

At that, Deidara started and looked up at Sasori, dropping the clay to the floor, forgotten. "What do you mean..un? Then where the hell is she?!"

"Well now, I don't think that was my job Deidara. I believe Leader-sama gave you the job of watching her, unless I'm wrong."

Deidara was up off the floor, and at the door in an instant brushing past Sasori. "We have to find her Sasori no Danna."

"We? Now when did this become my problem? You're lucky I told you about the girl going missing. You're so oblivious here in your little hovel that it could have been hours before you'd have noticed."

"Fine then! Whatever..un! I'll just find her myself…" As Deidara hurried angrily down the hall though, Sasori followed after him, a tiny smile gracing his features.

**T**obi looked around the little courtyard, at the holes in the ground and upturned boulders. Zetsu-san and Deidara-sempai weren't going to be happy about this- especially not Zetsu-san. All of those poor little plants that had been hurt… As he looked over at Sakura who was adjusting one of her gloves, he decided. 'I know Deidara-sempai always told me not to unless we were in trouble and he said to, but Tobi has to use 'that' jutsu- so no more of Zetsu-san's plant friends can be hurt! Deidara-sempai shouldn't mind, as long as I'm careful..' Tobi started to go through a few handseals, staring intently at Sakura all the while as she sent chakra to her fist and came at him.

**S**uddenly, she was stopped when she careened into a hard object that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. As she stumbled, and was seemingly pushed, falling back onto the ground, she saw what had blocked her path- one of Sasori's puppets. She turned angrily towards him, starting to get up and pumping chakra back into her fist, but then noticed he wasn't even looking at her. Sasori was staring off in the other direction, and as Sakura followed his gaze, she saw Deidara stalking over to Tobi, with what looked like three clay birds already in hand.

"Dammit Tobi, is there something wrong with you?"

Tobi looked over at Deidara, pouting- though nobody could see the pout on his face anyway. "No… Sakura-san was kicking my ass! Tobi has to show Deidara-sempai just how cool I can really be, and so-"

"Heh, nothing on earth could ever make me think you're cool Tobi..un. So unless we got sucked into some alternate reality or something, which it certainly doesn't seem like to me.."

"I think Deidara-sempai is just angry because Sakura-san is such a better fighter than he could ever be…" Tobi said to himself, but loud enough for Deidara to hear.

"What did you-?!" "And..," Tobi continued, "Deidara sempai is just embarrassed that a girl is better than him. After all, Tobi would never have to use 'that' on sempai, no matter what.."

"That's it Tobi- baka!! I'm going to kill you!!" Deidara threw one bird at Tobi, and Tobi whimpered, just barely dodging it. "Haha, you missed Deidara-sempai, see?.."

Deidara didn't even bother with throwing the other two birds though. He grabbed Tobi violently by the throat, slammed the clay birds into Tobi's face, then turned and walked off, smirking. "Hmph.. Katsu..un." There was a huge explosion, and Tobi fell to the ground.

"Oh my God!" Sakura got up, ready to run over and save Tobi- if there was anything left to save in the smouldering crater she saw from where she stood- when Sasori's voice stopped her. "You're just wasting your time brat. He'll be fine. Now get back inside."

"Tobi-san and I were just sparring. What the hell are you two doing here anyway?! Just leave me alone!"

Deidara laughed for a moment, before saying, "You've got a weird way of showing gratitude for saving your life." Sakura just stared at him for a moment, confused, then looked to Sasori, but he made no move to answer, just silently put his puppet back into its scroll. "Yeah, you haven't seen Tobi's one hit KO..un. Good thing we found you when we did, huh?"

Sakura just brushed past the two missing-nin, hurrying over to Tobi; but like Sasori had said, Tobi was fine. He was sitting at the bottom of the crater, coughing a little a fixing his mask, and stopped to wave enthusiastically at Sakura. Sakura sighed in relief and turned back to Deidara and Sasori, still angry.

"Well, time to go inside…un." Deidara smiled awkwardly at Sakura, who just brushed by him and went back in. "I just love how her gratitude is overflowing, don't you Deidara?" Sasori remarked sarcastically, causing Sakura to stop.

She flipped around, Inner Sakura practically deafening her with her rage. **'What the hell is his problem?! Shannaro!! How dare he talk after how he treated us!!! He's fire wood!!' **Sakura balled her fists, but managed to keep her temper under control. "I'm supposed to be.. grateful.. to _you_? Never! Besides, Tobi-san is harmless, and he just asked if I would go practice with him was all! You two don't need to butt in to everything I do!"

Sasori was completely unfazed by her attitude, although Deidara looked a little despondent. "You don't know what Tobi is capable of. You're lucky we came when we did. You would have had no way to defend yourself from his attack, and there would be nothing left of you right now. To think though, I actually bothered to go out of my way to protect your worthless little life with one of my puppets.." Sasori shook his head in feigned remorse.

"Whatever, you-" "Fine Sakura-san, you don't believe us…un? I'll have Tobi-san show you then."

**W**ithout even thinking, Deidara grabbed Sakura's wrist and led her back outside; Sakura was so ticked off, and so curious to see this 'special', and 'dangerous' jutsu that Tobi could supposedly do, that she barely even noticed, and allowed herself to be led back to the courtyard, a smug Sasori following behind.

**A**s they made their way over to Tobi, just getting out of the crater, Deidara dropped his hand from Sakura. She realized then, as she unconsciously went to wipe off the saliva, that he'd been licking her arm. "Hey, you-!"

"Tobi-baka, get the hell out of there now, or you're gonna get it again, with C3 this time..un! I'm not in the mood for stupid games!" Deidara yelled at Tobi, not even hearing Sakura.

"Ahh, Deidara-sempai, no, please! Tobi is out, see!?" Tobi cried, brushing himself off as he stood up next to Deidara.

"Good, now see that far wall? Hurry up you idiot, and use your stupid jutsu on it!" Deidara screamed at Tobi, pointing at the far rocky wall of the courtyard, while gripping the nape of Tobi's cloak with the other.

"Tobi sees.. but, Deidara-sempai…." Tobi sounded nervous and on the verge of tears. "What the hell is it..un?!" "Sempai always told Tobi not to use 'that' jutsu unless we were in mortal danger or something… so…"

"Oh, shut up you idiot! I told you to use it when I said it's okay, and I'm telling you to use it now dammit..un!"

"Okay…" Deidara loosened his grip on Tobi's cloak, and Tobi stepped a few feet away, going through the same handseals as before, and focusing all of his attention and chakra on the wall Deidara had pointed out.

"Deidara, are you sure he should be demonstrating on that wall?.." Sasori said offhandedly from the doorway, as he saw where Tobi was looking.

"Yeah, what's wrong with-?" Suddenly Sakura was standing in front of him, blocking his view of Sasori. "You freak, first..that.. now you lick my arm!? What's with you people?!"

Deidara put his arms up in defense, about to tell Sakura he hadn't meant it, and that his hand-mouths sometimes acted on their own, but before he could say anything, Sakura punched him to the other side of the courtyard. To the other side where Tobi was about to use his jutsu.

"Tobi, wait..un! Wait you baka!!.." He yelled weakly from his place in the bottom of the rocky wall. But Tobi couldn't stop, and as he and Deidara looked on in horror, and Sasori in shock mixed with slight amusement, most of the wall first seemed to catch on fire, then quickly became distorted and was ripped away to nothingness. Sakura just sat on the ground, to shocked and terrified to move, hoping that somehow Deidara would be spared, angry though she was at him. Deidara held his breath, waiting to die, but realized a few moments later that he'd somehow survived. He pulled himself feebly from the indent in the wall his body had made on impact, noticing that if Tobi's jutsu had hit only inches lower his head would have been gone.

**A**s Deidara stood though, Tobi started laughing. "What the hell is your problem? You nearly killed me baka!" Suddenly Deidara realized something didn't feel right, and he reached up to the top of his head. "Oh my God, what did you do to my hair?! You know how long it took to grow it, and how hard it was to get it into that style?!"

Deidara was panting and shaking, he was so angry, and Tobi backed quickly away. "You- you told me to use that jutsu Deidara-sempai. Tobi didn't want to, remember? See what happened?.."

Deidara grabbed some clay from his bag of C3, stuffing it into his hand, but Sasori quickly moved into his way. "Deidara, it's not worth it. Your hair will grow back, stupid as you were for telling him to use 'that'. Right now, I'd just focus on somehow repaying Leader-sama for the collapse of a quarter of this cave complex's structure. And I do hope that somebody," he turned to Sakura, still sitting in shock on the ground, "learned their lesson."

Sakura weakly nodded as Sasori led a seething Deidara inside, promising to help him with his hair 'problem', until it all grew back, and assuring him that it didn't look so bad and he would only have more problems if Tobi was killed, since Leader was having trouble finding members of late. It would be quite a while though until Deidara could calm down over something like that. "My hair was art..un!" Sakura heard him cry miserably as she shakily stood up to follow after them.

'_My God, they really did save my life… Tobi is so stupid, he didn't even realize, but, they saved me. I don't know why Sasori bothered, or Deidara after how I treated him, but they did…' _

**A**s she walked off, almost in a trance, Tobi came over to her. "Um.. Tobi is sorry Sakura-san. I didn't mean to hurt you, and it was an accident that Tobi almost used that on you. Deidara-sempai said once that it does something bad, but useful too… I don't know, it breaks down matter or something, but Tobi doesn't know what that is." He said, rubbing the back of his head in a way that reminded her too much of Naruto. She just nodded. "Great!" He hugged her quickly, then ran off, saying, "I'd better go apologize to Deidara-sempai!"

**A**s Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, Shikamaru, Lee, and Gai-sensei headed out of the village, Ino spotted them and walked over. "Hey, where are you guys all going?!" She asked perkily. "Do you have a mission?..." She looked seductively at Sai, expecting an answer.

Yet it was Rock Lee who suddenly yelled out, "We must go and save Sakura-san with the power of youth! Yosh!" "Hell yeah! Those creeps are gonna pay! I'm going to kill every single one of them!" Naruto joined in.

Kakashi gave Naruto a stern look as Ino's face changed from all sweetness to confusion and shock. "What happened to Forehead-girl?..."

"I'm sorry Ino, it's top secret, and I don't think that Tsunade-sama wants the entire village knowing about it… How troublesome…" Shikamaru stood with his hands behind his head, staring at the clouds.

"Ohhh, come on, I swear I won't tell! Where is she? Did something bad happen?" She asked, now genuinely concerned.

"Those jerks Akatsuki stole her!" Naruto blurted out, looking like he was ready to go 3 tails any minute in his anger. Ino held her hand to her mouth in shock, for once speechless. Sai looked pointedly at Kakashi who put his arm around Naruto's shoulder, leading him away and towards the village gate. Shikamaru waved lazily to Ino, and Sai did the same, feeling that he was obligated to, as they walked away.

"Hey! Hey wait!" Ino suddenly ran after them, and they stopped and turned to her. "If Sakura got kidnapped by Akatsuki, I'm coming with you! I'm not just going to sit by and wait while my best friend is getting who knows what done to her by those weirdoes who killed Asuma-sensei!"

She looked pleadingly at Shikamaru, who just shrugged lethargically at the mention of their teacher, giving his consent to her coming. "Please… Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, allow me to join you. I swear, I won't get in the way at all… And I know medical jutsu! I can't just sit here while Sakura's been kidnapped!!"

Kakashi looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Alright Ino-san, you can come.. Only.. please don't talk so loud, okay?" He said, smiling. As she turned around, she saw a few villagers staring at her like she was crazy.

"Oh.. um, heh, sorry about that…. I'll be right back, just let me get my stuff!.." Ino ran off hurriedly, and actually returned within five minutes, carrying only one small bag.

"I packed as fast as I could!" She huffed. "I'm ready.." "Good, then let us go and save Sakura-chan!" "Yeah!!!" Shikamaru sighed as they walked out of the village, and began running through the trees. "This is going to be beyond troublesome, I just know it…"

"So, Sai-san, where're we going anyway?..." Sai gave Ino his fake smile, annoyed beyond words that she was clinging to his arm, as he answered, "We don't know yet. We're going to River Country first, to scout there, but ANBU was sent ahead, and we're hoping they find Hag-san soon…" "Ew, so we're just searching around all the countries? But, I didn't pack enough outfits!..." Ino's whine reverberated through the forest.

**N**eedless to say, Sakura didn't see Tobi again for the rest of that day or night.

**A**fter going to get some late lunch, she went back to her room to sit and think for a while. After almost two hours of thought, and arguing with herself. Inner Sakura refused to concede that Deidara and Sasori's saving her had meant anything, aside from them trying to save their own necks; after all, if she died, what would her father say? Sakura had to agree, but still, it seemed that they'd gone out of her way, and then Deidara had even pulled her back to the courtyard to show her just how much danger she had been in- at the cost of his beloved gravity-defying ponytail. Sakura still couldn't shake her feeling of guilt on that one.

'_Dammit, this is crazy! I'm feeling sorry for hitting an S-ranked criminal! One that I should be wanting to kill any chance I get! What's wrong with me?!'_ **'Oooh, maybe you're in love.. Ugh! Though, I've got to say, most of the guys here are pretty hot, even if they are total jackasses and losers!' **_'Shut up, you're just making things worse!... Oh, I can't take this anymore!...' _With that, Sakura got up and left her room, heading off to find Deidara.

**"I**t doesn't look the same Sasori no Danna! It flops over too much, and the sheen and texture are totally off!..." Sakura finally heard Deidara's distressed yells from down one hallway.

She wasn't certain if she was permitted in that area of the hideout, since nobody had ever taken her down that way before, and it seemed sort of dark. As she peeked into various rooms along the long hallway, she saw what seemed in the dark to be a large library, and quite a ways farther down a room with a huge couch and a television that covered one entire wall.

The door to the next room was closed nearly all the way, but she could see a little sliver of light peeking through, and suddenly hear Sasori's voice. "Deidara, I explained, if you would hold still the grafting of the hair extensions would be much smoother. However, it looks fine, how many times do I have to tell you that? And besides, not all of your hair is gone… You know it grows back fast, you won't need my synthetic hair more than a month. Now shut up you idiot, I'm nearly done."

"But it's ugllllyyy!..." Sakura chose that moment to quietly push open the door, yet Deidara and Sasori turned from the large bathroom mirror anyway to stare at her.

"Um.." Sakura started awkwardly, looking at the floor. "Look, I, I just… Just wanted to thank you, for helping me, and stopping Tobi-san earlier. You didn't have to do that. Well, you did, but, I don't know, you didn't have to go so far. I'm sorry Deidara-san, about your hair." Deidara made a little whimpering sound at the mention of his hair. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know." She couldn't even believe she'd said it as she turned to go.

"Look, Sakura-san…un. There's one thing you can do actually. Um, I was hoping we could forget about how stupid I was the other day. I really didn't mean to do that you know… Oh, and please don't let your father kill me for the wall...un.." An awkward silence followed, and finally Sakura nodded slowly.

"Well, um, I'm going to go and try to find some dinner…" "Just a moment Sakura-san. I'll be done with Deidara's hair in a few minutes, and then the two of us can join you. Perhaps… perhaps we can start over, hmm? I apologize for my unwarranted behavior of a few days ago. I was just a little shocked at seeing you again was all."

"I…um, whatever Sasori-san." Sasori inwardly smiled, as Sakura turned to go, shutting the door behind her. She was in a forgiving mood, it was just too perfect for his plan.

**A**s she turned to go, she heard muffled yelling. At first, she continued walking down the hall, thinking it was just Deidara complaining about his hair again. Yet as one loud yell echoed through the hall, she realized it wasn't his voice. She turned and walked farther into the darkness, as a loud "Dammit bitch, that fuckin' hurts!" hit her ears.

She arrived at the end of the hall, and opened the door, shock hitting her, dinner completely forgotten.

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Hey everyone... I know this chapter wasn't the best, and was late too, but next chapter will be better, I promise! REVIEW!!! 


	8. Chapter 8

Aurora: Well, Deidara and Sasori are off because of the holiday. I just hadddd to upload this on the 4th of July, huh? And you know Dei and explosives, like freworks... They'll be back next chapter. But for now- woah, 90 reviews?! O.O You guys are too kind!!! Oh my gosh!!! Let me get to replying though...

FakeCompassion, overlordofnobodies, Skilled Defence, SpeedDemon315, KurlyQT, and Koumori, you all wondered who it was at that door Sakura found. Yeah, it was Hidan. I tried to make it somehwat obvious... But yeah.. And nooo, Konoha peeps can't find her yet!! That would ruin the story, because she still hasn't fallen in love with Sasori or Deidara. But don't worry, it won't take them too long! She's only been at Akatsuki headquarters about a week anyway.

Mackenzi bolin, I was actually planning too, but then forgot for a while. Thanks to your review, you got what you asked for, and don't have to wait like 5 chapters for it either!! Thanks for the reminder, it would've taken me forever to remember for myself!

Leriks, thanks a bunch!! I figured, there are tons of stories where Sasori treats Sakura like his little puppet, quite literally, I just wanted something different, something which I felt would be more realistic. Those other stories are nice too, but just not my style... and I'm glad you enjoy mine!! -hugs-

KageKitsun, Artemis- kibasgirlfriend, pinky101, Caitlin, and sandshinobi4eve, I'm lad you guys liked it, and I hope I didn't make you wait too long for my update!! I had writer's block you see... And now that I have updated, well, this chapter is a bit darker.. I figured it was time to start to move away from the fluffiness, into the plot itself. You might not like it anymore... -stressed-

Oh, Aldrian, you always make me feel so good about my writing, lol. I don't know, were they really so great together? They didn't do much- I mean, yeah they saved Sakura, and they argued some too(more of that this chapter), but they didn't do much... Well I guess it was enough, lol. :)

josie, what's wrong with Sasori and Sakura? Is it that they seemed to hate each other, or something else? Because if it's only the hate thing, lemme tell you, hate can turn to love under certian circumstances just like that. -snaps- I can recommend some books and movies that show this much more basically than my story will...

And yeah SugaChaos, I feel bad for Deidara too, but eh, hair grows back fast, and I had to make it seem more dramatic. He'll be fine. :)

So yeah, thanks soooo much everyone for your reviews!! And so many favs and story alerts on this story too!!! I can't thank you guys enough!!

_So, to recap... Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 8_

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**N**aruto paced back and forth, impatiently waiting for everyone to get back up and go. "Come on already, Sakura-chan is waiting for us, dattebayo!"

"Oh, shut up already Naruto, you're so annoying. Do you always have to be so dumb?... Forehead-girl can wait while I get a little beauty rest, ANBU hasn't even told us where to look yet…" Ino whined back, leaning against a tree and fixing her hair.

"No! We have to save her now!" "Naruto," Kakashi said sternly, "Ino-san is right. Until we hear from ANBU, we have no idea of where Akatsuki may be. We're going to keep looking soon, but unlike you, most of the team needs a break before they start out looking again." Naruto slowly conceded, angry that Gai and Lee got to go off scouting the area though, and sat down against a tree near his sensei and Shikamaru.

"…It's fairly obvious they aren't in Kawa no Kuni any longer. That base you rescued Gaara from was most likely only a satellite base anyway… How troublesome. But they can't be in Hi no Kuni, with all of the shinobi out scouting since Orochimaru's attack three years ago, they would have no place to hide. The same basically goes for Sunagakure and Kaze no Kuni, especially since Gaara was attacked." Shikamaru said as he leaned back against a tree, his arms behind his head, lazily propping it up. "The ANBU have scouted most of Mizu no Kuni and found nothing.. Oto no Kuni is most likely out too; with Orochimaru around, the two would have come into conflict a while ago, and we would've heard about it. The countries which are left are Nami no Kuni, Taki no Kuni, Ame no Kuni, Kusa no Kuni, Kaminari no Kuni, and Tsuchi no Kuni. I would recommend heading up through Kusa and Ame next. They're small, but keep to themselves for the most part, and don't have affiliations with Konoha. Our scouting should go quickly, while ANBU can move on to a larger country."

Naruto just stared at Shikamaru for a moment, in shock. He wasn't used to being with him on missions, and didn't realize hat when it came to important things like strategy, he could actually say more than 'how troublesome'. "Whoa… Did he just really say all of that Kakashi-sensei?.." Kakashi smiled at Naruto, which was hard to see in the dark even though he closed his eye as usual. "Well, I suppose we can head out now Naruto, everyone seems to have rested long enough."

Naruto jumped up, seeing that Gai-sensei and Lee had returned. "All right, well then what're we waiting for? Come on everyone, hurry up!!" He said anxiously, as Ino and Shikamaru both got up too slowly for his liking.

Lee seemed to feel the same, and went over to pull Ino he rest of the way up. "Ew, get off me, I can get up myself thanks, and I don't need you helping me up." She turned to Sai, latching onto his arm again. As Naruto ran off into the blackened forest, he looked back at Sai, smiling.

**"Y**ou gonna stand there gawking all day fuckin' little whore? Damn, bitch, I told you to lock that fucking door!" The medic-nin standing beside the table cringed as Hidan yelled first at Sakura, then at her.

Sakura snapped out of her temporary stupor, and shut the door, walking farther into the room. "What the hell did you call me?! How dare you?!" Her eyes flared as she grabbed her gloves from her pocket, pulling them on. "I am not a whore!!" As she went at Hidan, the medic-nin did her best to pull the angry girl off.

"Oh, oh please, he didn't mean it.. He talks like that to everyone, he can't help it!! Please, it's taken nearly a month to piece his head back together, please, don't hurt him!!..." The medic-nin cried, desperate tears pouring from her eyes.

Sakura paused for a moment at the medic-nin's pleas, her fist having just connected with Hidan's left cheek, her other hand fisting his hair.

"Hmph, bitch why'd you stop? That felt good, I mean seriously. Haven't felt that great in months.." Sakura dropped the head in disgust, stepping back a bit from the table as the medic hurried to Hidan's side to right him so he didn't roll to the floor. "Please, I've been brought here to piece him back together, my life depends on it!... I'm sorry if he offended you, but like I said miss, he's always like this, it's meaningless.."

Hidan gave her a cocky look, almost daring her to hit him again as he retorted to the medic, "Look shut up fuckin heathen bitch, what the hell do you know anyway? Might as well die, you little heathen ass is goin straight to hell."

Sakura glared at him, but didn't allow herself to go hit him again, for the poor medic-nin's sake. "How did he get like this?..." She gestured to his head, the neck missing some pieces, and the large garbage cans filled to the brim with what she was certain was tiny pieces of flesh and other tissue.

"Well, I, I'm not-" "Some gay-ass little pretty boy got all pissed 'cause I killed some geezer he was with. Hell, not my fault they attacked us, and what the fuck, like I'm not supposed to sacrifice to Jashin-sama? Screw him. Little emo bastard had to go and fuck me up real good though. Got a cheap shot on me. Blew me up in some damned hole.."

The medic-nin had gone back to repairing Hidan's broken body, having carefully picked up two pieces of the tissue from the containers, lying them out flat and trying to figure out where they belonged. "Um, no offense miss," she said without looking up, "but I'm kind of busy, and I have a deadline for all of this too. I'd love to talk, but have to get back to work."

Sakura nodded quietly and turned to go, but stopped her hand resting on the doorknob. _'Ugh, why I would ever want to help one of them… He's such an asshole too. But that medic-nin doesn't seem like she's all too happy about being here, I can't just leave her to do all of this on her own, and I'm sure there's a quicker way too…'_ "Wait, let me help you, I can't let you do all this…" Sakura said, turning grudgingly back towards Hidan.

"No, no, it's fine… I mean, after all, you must have missions, and you know, medical jutsus are rather hard to learn. I can't teach you… But really though, you should all have your own medic too, no offense of course. It would've made things much easier, that's all."

"Um, well I am a medic-nin.." Sakura replied awkwardly, walking over and picking up a few pieces of flesh, distaste evident on her face. "I was trained for 2 and a half years by Tsunade-sama."

The medic-nin just stared for a moment, agape. "Well, Tsunade-sama… And that plant thing who brought me here, and that shadowy man, they said there was no Akatsuki medic… If you're really willing to help, then, I suppose by all means do- unless they told you not to or something, I'd hate to be in trouble…"

"I didn't even know that this guy was here. Nobody told me anything, but I'm not going to let you work on him alone." Sakura smiled, before sitting down with some of the pieces of Hidan, trying to piece them together like an intricate puzzle, all the while thinking of ways to make the job simpler.

**"H**ey Sakura-san, how does my hair look? It's bad, right?!.." Deidara yelled as he bounded into the dining room, Sasori following gruffly after him, knowing he had in fact dine an amazing job on the repair of Deidara's hair. "Tell Sasori no Danna… Hey, she isn't here..un. Hey Sakura-san!!.." Deidara trailed off.

"Deidara, don't waste your breath, she obviously isn't here. She probably got tired of all of your whining, and of waiting for us since you couldn't accept that your hair looks fine, or that some things are more important…" Deidara just glared at Sasori, hurrying off to Sakura's room.

"What an imbecile, twice in one day. And yet I'm seen as unfit to care for the girl…" Sasori shook his head in feigned lament, not even bothering to go and help Deidara look. His puppets needed major work, and Deidara should be capable of finding Sakura on his own; it wasn't as though she could go far.

**D**eidara knocked on her door and waited for almost 5 minutes before he impatiently grabbed two pieces of C1 clay and, sculpting them like butterflies, set the clay along the door frame. When the large screws fell out of the door and he was able to move it, he realized she wasn't there either, even though her door had been locked. 'Dammit, how does she do this…un? I swear, Tobi-baka, her, and Sasori no Danna must all be plotting against me or something….' Leaving the door hanging off its frame by only the lock, he stalked off, searching for Sakura.

**M**rs. Haruno had finally finished the dishes, and stumbled over to the kitchen table, her head collapsing into her hands as her body began to rack with silent sobs, her tears having long been spent. She thought of going over to the Yamanaka's; Mrs. Yamanaka had invited her over for dinner that evening, and when she'd declined said that she must at least come for dessert, that it would be good for her to take her mind off of certain things if only for a few hours. Mrs. Haruno thought for a moment about going, and even went to get her purse, but then placed it back down and wandered up to her bedroom, feeling like an empty shell.

**S**he cried silently for a little while longer, in one of the soft recliners at one end of the room, but then looking at the time, saw that her husband would be home soon. He hated seeing her crying, kept telling her that crying over what had happened was useless, and to stop already since after all, the Konoha-nin would find Sakura soon enough. She got up and went to get changed for bed, when suddenly she felt a presence in the room. Turning sharply, she didn't see anything and so went back to getting changed.

"Now, Shizuka-san, I should think you'd recognize me. I'm deeply hurt…" Came a deep sarcastic voice.

"You..! How did you?.. But I have a restraining order against you!!" Mrs. Haruno said shocked, doing her best to hide her fear.

"Of course, of course dear Shizuka." The Leader stepped into the light in the middle of the room, provided by both the bathroom, and the moonlight filtering through the window. "However, what's this I hear about you never having told our dear Sakura that I'm her father?... Surely you wouldn't want her to believe that that pathetic waste of air you're married to now is her parent. I was deeply offended. It's as though I have to start from scratch, with my own 15 year old daughter. What right have you to lie to her like that?" The Leader said sternly.

"It wasn't a lie, you asshole. It just wasn't the whole truth, and rightly so. You're the one that left, to go do God knows what, and be with that floosy- and then look, she leaves you anyway." Mrs. Haruno laughed. "Sakura was happy not knowing. She had friends, and loving parents, you weren't, and still aren't needed! I don't know why the courts see it differently! What did you do, pay them off and threaten their lives?!"

The Leader brushed off her question, moving and sitting in one of the chairs Sakura's mother had just vacated. "I also see that you were quick to let the Hokage know. Well, let me tell you, if by a chance in a million those Konoha-nin do find my headquarters, we can deal with them before Sakura is even made the wiser. Your efforts are so pathetic Shizuka, they always were. Your attachment to this village, and their stupid customs and beliefs, I swear, it'll be your downfall…"

"So what're you doing here? Here to gawk and rub it in or something? Because fine, I get, so you can leave!" Mrs. Haruno balled her fists, angry tears finally coming to her eyes.

"Tsk tsk Shizuka-san… You see, it isn't that simple. When I last saw my dear child, she proved to me that you've poisoned her mind just as your own has been poisoned. My child is very important to me, and to my affairs, as I've told you since she was born, and yet… She has too much attachment to, too much love for this godforsaken village." The Leader slowly got up and moved towards his ex-wife, as she backed away, hitting the dresser before backing into the bathroom. "..But of course, if she has no ties anymore, then I'm free to finally enlighten her to the evils of this world."

"…Y-you wouldn't dare. You said you want to turn Sakura… if she finds out you did anything, then, she'd never-"

"Oh please Shizuka, you can't be this dumb… As though I would allow it to seem like I've done anything wrong?... Nobody will ever even know I've been here." He said, reaching Sakura's mother and grabbing her violently by the neck. "Now, your dear husband though, I suppose the idiot is actually good for something, isn't he? From what I understand, he should be back from his little card game any time now, just like every night."

Shizuka's eyes widened markedly as the Leader's grip tightened, cutting off her air supply. She clawed at his hand, struggling with all her strength, but even so, she was no match for the Leader's clone or 30 of his power. Finally, he whipped out a kunai, sending it deep into the back of her neck, the tip nearly coming out the other side where his hand still clutched her throat. He threw her limp body to the bed as her eyes rolled back, not even glancing back as he left the room.

**N**obody noticed the man sitting silently in a tree an hour later, as Mr. Haruno tearfully turned himself in. Nobody noticed the powerful, mind-controlling genjutsu that had been placed on the poor man either, as he recounted the argument he and his wife had had, and how he had somehow lost control when she began crying yet again, not being able to stop his rage before he killed her. The Leader's 30 clone quietly shunshined to outside of Konoha, before taking another kunai out of his pouch and stabbing himself, his usefulness done after all.

**"W**e'll be staying here tonight." His voice didn't leave any room for argument, but still he managed to get some.

"..Oh.. why here? We've been searching all over the place for weeks, and still haven't gotten to stay in a decent hotel. I mean c'mon, just one night, please?..." She begged, clinging to his arm.

"Get off of me. Now." "Well, okay…" Karin smiled sweetly at him, while Suigetsu made a noise in the background that sounded like he was trying not to vomit.

"Anyway, we don't have time to find a hotel." Sasuke said offhandedly, settling down against a tree.

"Yeah, what the hell Karin, you can't take a few bugs, or the cold?.. Or is it that you were hoping to connive Sasuke into getting a suite for you two?... Good luck." He laughed.

"Oh, go screw yourself Suigetsu, I hope you evaporate or something!" He held up his newly filled water bottle and shook it back and forth tauntingly. "Ugh! I can't take this with you anymore!!" Before she could start fighting with Suigetsu though, Sasuke glared warningly at Karin. "I'm going to help Juugo find food and firewood then." Karin huffed, walking off into the woods to find her companion.

"Damn, she has such issues…" "Hn." As Sasuke sat there, staring at nothing in particular, he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature, causing him to tense. "Go and find Karin and Juugo."

**"A**h, finally!! I've been looking everywhere for you Sakura-san!!" Deidara cried in relief when he finally opened the door to the 'infirmary'.

"Hey, what the hell are you doin' here Deidara-chan, freakin' gay-ass heathen!! Nobody invited you, seriously… I mean, damn, this has to be a fuckin' three ring circus of somethin'?!"

"Damnit, how many times do I have to tell you Hidan-san?! I'm not a girl, and I'm not gay!!" Deidara turned red in anger and embarrassment, as Sakura laughed. Deidara glared at Hidan, so tempted to use C4 on him- hell that would have to kill him, immortal or not- but restrained himself because he knew Leader went through a lot to get Hidan back, not having been able to find a replacement. "Come on Sakura-san," Deidara said rigidly, "Sasori-san and me were waiting for you to have dinner."

"Ha, now the puppet eats? Oh, this is rich! I'm gone for 2 fuckin' months, and I miss everything good. What, did Kisame turn red, and Blue go get all loose and have Leader's fuckin' kid or something? Seriously, I can't take all this shit…."

Deidara stuck his tongues out at Hidan, and quickly went over to Sakura on the floor, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "Let's go, okay..un? Please?" He looked at her pleadingly, his back purposely blocking Hidan from view.

"Okay. Just let me repair this one part of him first, I've been trying to piece this tissue together for a while now I guess… Sorry, I guess I forgot the time." Sakura smiled in embarrassment, grabbing the flesh she'd pieced together, quickly going over and placing it against Hidan's neck, her hands glowing with chakra as she reattached it to his body.

"Hell, that hurts you little fuckin' whore!! What the hell?!" He actually sounded more pleased than angered though, to Sakura's disgust.

"All done. You heal pretty fast." She said more to herself than to Hidan, as she turned from him angrily. Deidara unconsciously latched onto her arm again, remembering though to keep his tongue in check as he led her from the room. "I'll be back tomorrow." Sakura called to the frazzled medic, "I just want to check something first, because like I said, I'm pretty sure there's an easier way to do this, by what Tsunade-sama has taught me…"

**"I** just don't get how that weirdo was alive. He was…just a head…" Sakura poked at her food with her fork, having barely touched it.

"He claims to be immortal." Sasori replied, putting down the puppet arm he'd been working on. "Of course, I doubt very highly that someone like him really is immortal, and I'm sure Leader-sama knows exactly how to kill him if needed. Hidan has no class though, I'm sorry that you had to sit in that room and take that sort of verbal abuse for so long. And I'm sure he didn't even realize anything he said was offensive either…"

"Hmph. Can't we talk about something else Sasori no Danna..un?" Deidara said in irritation, between mouthfuls of dango and teriyaki chicken.

"You're just sore because he called you a girl, and homosexual again. But Deidara, I've told you time and again, that with that hair, and those feminine features, you're only asking for it. If you were even worth it, I'd offer to help you and turn you into a puppet but really.."

"Like I'd ever wanna be one of those stupid dolls..un! I know what real art is Sasori no Danna, and fine if you want to make puppets, but I don't wanna be involved. Well, I'll show him sometime though, just watch." Deidara stared angrily at his chicken, while Sakura began to laugh again. "Hey!..." Deidara whined.

"No… No, I was laughing at your fighting!.." Sakura struggled to say in between laughs. "You guys… you guys, you act like an old married couple!!! It's so hilarious and cute!!"

Sasori raised his eyebrow, not looking amused at all, but Deidara looked up from his food, a bit awkwardly at first, then started laughing too- though no where near as hard as Sakura was. "Hey, ya know, she's right Sasori no Danna!! I never knew you felt that way about me..un!! Sorry though, but I swear, I don't swing that way…"

**L**uckily, Deidara's poor neck was spared from being wrung, and he was spared from being poisoned when suddenly their rings began glowing. Sasori stopped in mid-lunge, and sat back down, righting himself. "Well, it seems your father is back, Sakura-san. I'm surprised he wants to us this late, but after all, it has been four days… Shall we?.." He glared at Deidara as he got up from the table, following behind as Deidara led Sakura to the Leader's office. without thinking she moved herself a little closer into Deidara's protective grip, positioning herself against the crook of his arm as they walked.

**"A**nd how has life been treating my wittle pwincess while Daddy's been gone?..." Sakura did her best not to cringe. Damn, when would this guy take a hint and stop acting like she was 5?...

"Um, I've been fine… I was kinda bored, but Deidara-san offered to teach me art… That' that didn't go so well, but it's fine now. And then Tobi-san offered to go train with me earlier today, but he used some crazy jutsu, and Sasori-san and Deidara-san both saved me. It's weird, Sasori-san is acting so different all of a sudden, he apologized and all… Anyway though, I've been having as good of a time as I can with Deidara-san though I guess, but do you think I could go see my friends and Kaasan soon? You promised…"

The Leader took in all his daughter said with interest, until she mentioned Konoha again, after which he visibly scowled and put Sakura down from his lap. "Well dear wittle flower, you see, Daddy is still oh so busy… And he can't trust those other ninja to watch you, you know? Sometimes Daddy's workers are good for missions, but not for making sure little Sakura is okay outside of her home… Daddy will think about it for next time, okay? Now, can you tell Deidara-san and Sasori-san to come in here?" He pushed her lightly, implying that she should go. Sakura dejectedly walked form the room as she was told.

**"S**o, Sasori-san, Deidara-san… My daughter seemed to have a good report- except for one instance during which Tobi nearly used his specialty jutsu on her?.." The Leader raised his eyebrow.

"Heh, yeah, funny thing…un. She was sleeping late, so I checked on her, but then went to go work on my art. And then Sasori-san came and said she was gone, so we found her outside, and stopped Tobi-baka. That damned idiot took off most of my hair though!..." Deidara's hands went to his head, after which Sasori slapped them away. "Idiot, I told you not to touch it excessively, and most of all not to pull on it."

"Sasori-san. How pray tell did you know my daughter was missing in the first place?"

Sasori stopped his arguing and looked at the Leader. "I realize you told me that she's no longer my responsibility Leader-sama. However, without actually interfering in Deidara's job, I have been checking to make sure she's alright every now and then. I am truly sorry for what happened when she arrived, as I said. It was just the shock, after months of having to wait to be revived, and then rebuild my entire puppet collection. But I was wrong, and the girl has a good deal of worth. I'm sorry if I shouldn't be checking up on her Leader-sama, but I wanted to ensure her safety…"

"I'll speak with my daughter again before I leave. But no, as long as I don't find that you've been harassing her, I suppose double-checking Deidara's assignment is fine." The Leader waved them off. "You're both dismissed."

**"S**o, what did you say to him..un?" Deidara asked, looking around the dining room quickly to make sure nobody else could be listening in.

"Well, he asked a little about you, but mostly about Sasori-san. He wanted to know if Sasori-san was harassing me in any way, and then asked about whether or not Sasori-san had apologized. I said again that Sasori-san seemed to be much nicer, kind of like how he was right before he 'died', or whatever…" Sakura trailed off.

"Yeah, and?.."

"..Well, he's still stuck doing allll the chores!" She laughed and Deidara joined in. "But he's not like ready to kill Sasori-san anymore. I explained that I kinda forgave him, and he said that he'll be watching him closely, but that he is allowed to help you with your mission, though really, how much babysitting can I need?! He can't be alone with me though according to my father.."

Deidara nodded, then smirked widely. "Well, I don't know..un. I think that you need 24-hour surveillance Sakura-san. You might fall down a well, or choke on a lollipop or something!.."

Sakura playfully hit him, before sitting down and laughing even harder. Meanwhile Sasori walked back to his room quite satisfied, carrying the puppet pieces he'd left in the dining room earlier, now nearly completed.

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Like I said, this chapter was a little darker... I also jumped around a bit more, so I hope you didn't get confused!! The bolded lettering at the beginning of a paragraph signifies a time or location skip, in any chapter, and this one is no different, so hopefully there wasn't too much trouble in figuring out what the hell was going on. I just wanted to get so much into this chapter was all. Next chapter will have less skipping around. So yeah, sorry if you don't like violence, but it had to be done. Review!!! 


	9. Chapter 9

Aurora: Well, everybody's been asking for either some SakuDei, or SakuSaso action. It's been driving me nuts!! I'm terrible with romance, especially rushed. But... you should ALL be happy, this time around. Everyone- important anyway- gets some action. And I think I was finally able to make it both very believable, and very 'cute'. Now, I've just gotta say... damn! 20 reviews!! Thank you sooo much!!!

Deidara: Yeah, I get it..un. -looks at the reviews- Um, I'm not stuck in any bird cage Rambonata, so no worries. If you think you have me stuck somewhere, it might be one of my clay clones though, so not responsible if you suddenly 'go out with a bang'. And SakuraKitty, why's it have to be Sasori and Sakura at the end? What's wrong with me liking Sakura?... Like that stupid puppet could ever really have feelings anyway, un!

Aurora: That's the way it HAS to be Deidara. I started this story as a SasoSaku story, and I'm not gonna change it. I'm sorry. And yep, like I've said tons of times before, I pride myself on this being a different kind of SasorixSakura fic. Most have him turning her into a puppet, and acting all infatuated right off the bat. But think about it, if a little girl beat you up when you were supposed to be one of the best ninja on earth, and then she destroyed all of your art, how would you feel, even if during the fight you had some respect for her?... I know I'd wind up hating her guts if I ever saw her again, this is meant to be more realistic as to what would happen.

Sasori: -glaring at Aurora- Are you quite done? Anyway.. Auel Nader, wendy, caitlincowz, MysteriousNekoHanyou, Namine4ever, sandshinobi4eva, pinky101, and SugarChaos, I'm sure Aurora is ecstatic that you reviewed and enjoy her story. She's obviously insecure and needs people like you to tell her shes done a good job. And yes caitlin, I agree. That's the only positive thing I can say about this story, it's written in proper English instead of ghetto slang or chatspeak.

Aurora: Bastard. Okay, let's see... Oh, I know, I'll deal with reviews mentioning that jackass Sas-gay now. :) First off, missyserena214, Sasuke may have seemed to be just a space filler for that last chapter, to make things a bit more interesting. But I'm going to have him be involved in this story- now due to current manga chapters, more than ever. He is after all looking for Akatsuki himself, since he wants to kill his brother. Um, devilswife... I don't mean any offense, but I said this was going to be a Sasori and Sakura fan-fic. I'd NEVER pair her- or anyone- with Sasuke. I hate him. And Gaara.. he's cool and all, but not in this story. Too many characters just confuse people, and he isn't really needed, awesome as he is... And Dokami-san. I'm glad you liked Sasuke's little cameo. I'm bad with writing for his weirdo team though, so I apologize in advance for them being all sucky. I try!!! I really do!! But hell, I can't get their personalities down:( I'm glad you liked Hidan though.. even though I don't like him either, lol.

Deidara: Hmph, who does..un? He's a jackass. Did you see what he said to me? -whining- FakeCompassion, SinisterVoices, and Artemis-kibasgirlfriend, how can you think it's cool that he's in the story, or that he's funny?...

Aurora: He is funny though, I have to give him that. And the stuff he says about you is true Deidara. You look like a girl. Change of subject... As for the three of you and donkey talking about Sakura's mother... Yes it was horrible, but needed to be done. And not only because Leader(Pein) disliked his ex-wife, or because he personally wanted all of Sakura's ties with Konoha broken. Those were factors in it, but well, you'll see in this chapter, that wasn't all of it. This chapter doesn't give it all away though, but everyone should be able to figure it out. He's not telling Sakura either, because think about it- if he tells her, even if he says the step-father did it, she won't believe him. But he's making sure she'll be told at some point- Zetsu knows, as do Blue.. and Tobi I guess too.

Sasori: Are you done yet?... I have things to do, and this waiting-

Aurora: Yeah, yeah, I'm done. On to the story... Thanks for 114 reviews and I don't even know how many story alerts, as of August 1st!!

_The summary: Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 9_

**S**asuke glanced off into the brush with seeming disinterest. "You, out there. You'd might as well come out…dobe. When Karin and the rest of my team return, even masking your chakra won't help you."

Naruto emerged from the dense grouping of trees next to Sasuke, a pile of firewood in his hands. The firewood was quickly forgotten though as anger came over Naruto's face. "You, what're you-"

Sasuke held up his hand to silence Naruto, interrupting him, "So you still haven't learned? Back to try to drag me back to Konoha?... Look, if I have to kill you dobe, I will. And I'm sure that the rest of Team Hebi won't mind finishing you off either."

"Shut up!!" Naruto screamed at him, the Kyuubi's red chakra beginning to leak from his body. "This has nothing to do with you!! I'll bring you back whenever I want to, but I don't care right now! Sakura's been kidnapped by those weirdoes your brother hangs around with, and we have to save her!!"

Sasuke looked contemplative for a moment, though he kept his composure and didn't seem concerned at all by what Naruto had said. "It figures, she always was weak," was his only reply.

"What the hell do you know?! You haven't even been around! Since you left, Sakura's been training super hard, and some people even said she's stronger than Tsunade! The only reason she didn't get involved when we found you at that snake bastards place was because…." Naruto trailed off, quieting down and looking a little sad.

"Who the hell is Sakura, huh Sasuke?" An envious voice broke through the silence. Standing at the edge of the clearing were Juugo, Suigetsu, and a very jealous looking Karin with her hands on her hips.

"Nobody. She was just an old useless teammate back in Konoha." Sasuke muttered as Karin stalked over, grabbing Sasuke arm possessively. "Aw, that's what I want to hear!"

"I've told you before, don't touch me." He angrily shook her off.

Naruto stared at the four of them for a moment, before turning around. "Well if you wanna be an asshole, fine! But I'm going to save Sakura-chan, and nobody is going to stop me, dattebayo!" Before Sasuke even had opportunity to say or do anything, Naruto was gone, back to the rest of the rescue team who had needed to take a rest before going on.

"Wow, someone has major issues…" Suigetsu randomly said, staring after Naruto.

"Yeah, you mean you?" Karin retorted sarcastically.

"Shut up, both of you." Sasuke said as he moved towards the trees Naruto had disappeared into.

"Hey, wait, where the hell are we going?.." Suigetsu said, having just plopped himself down to drink some water, and noticing Sasuke walking off.

"Naruto and the others are after Akatsuki, and due to Sakura's kidnapping might have valuable leads as to where they are. Half the village is probably helping to find her, they're idiots like that. We're going to follow them. We can use whatever information they have to our advantage, and find Itachi. After all, none of you have been any help in gathering information on that bastard." Sasuke replied coldly, not bothering to turn around. Juugo followed immediately after Sasuke, to go find Naruto. Karin and Suigetsu glanced at each other, before hurrying after them.

**"W**ell, I wonder if Zetsu has told anyone yet. I mean, I do hate to keep my poor little Sakura waiting for the news." The Akatsuki Leader said with humor in his voice.

"Pein, I don't really see the point anyway. I mean, I'm sure she'll find out eventually, but just to let you know, from a woman's point of view, it's probably only going to make her hate us even more."

"Well, would you rather her keep all of her loyalties and ties to Konoha? Besides, he ordered that she be cut as much as possible from her home village, and I agree. Konoha was a pathetic waste. Look at the stock it produces, their pathetic mindset…", he said, most likely referring to their old teacher.

"I just don't see how this is going to work, that's all. I don't know why it is that we need her. I mean of course aside from her being your daughter, no offense. She just doesn't seem like she would be of use to us. But he said, I know.." Konan walked off a little ways, frustrated at what she saw as a pointless assignment, as she absentmindedly folded a piece of paper into a perfectly constructed butterfly.

"Well, even if the boy doesn't bother to come and try to save her, we can still use her as a replacement member, even though it isn't what he wanted. She isn't a complete waste, and time and training will help. And we know from Zetsu that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is coming, so at least we'll have that out of the way, even if the other doesn't learn of it, or doesn't care." The Leader sighed, getting up and walking over to his partner.

"True. You're right, though you know how much it will take to have either of them join us. But at least if he comes too, we'll have two new members, once we can secure their loyalties. I just wish all this wasn't placed on us. And to think, you a god, you've been demeaned so much that now you have to go capture a jinchuuriki. Well, whatever, he must know it'll turn out fine in the end, or he wouldn't have ordered us to do all this, right Pein?" She leaned back into his arms, trying to brush her worries away.

**"D**o we have to stay here all day..un?" Deidara griped, glaring at Hidan who had not five minutes before made another comment about his sexual preferences. He leaned against the door frame, in almost as grumpy a mood as Sasori was usually in.

"Well… No, I promise, I'll be finished in an hour at the most, okay? I won't have much chakra left soon anyway…" Sakura stopped healing Hidan for a moment, staring blankly at her hands as she checked her chakra reserves.

"Only an hour, huh you fuckin' whore?... Damn, and I was actually startin' to enjoy this. You should ask Jashin-sama for guidance, I know he'd help a true believer like me." Hidan smiled sarcastically, Sakura doing her best to just ignore him. After thinking on it nearly all night, she realized that by concentrating her chakra a certain way, and using it along with two of the medical jutsus that Tsunade had taught her, usually used for severed limbs and such, she could actually force the tissue that belonged together back into one piece, even if the pieces were scattered, instead of having to search for hours through bits and pieces, and working on him like a puzzle. It saved more than half the time of repairing Hidan, and the medic-nin working on him hadn't been able to thank Sakura enough. Of course, she wasn't able to use such high level medical jutsus, and so was still sitting off to the side, piecing bits of him together and healing them.

And so, Deidara waited, what else was there for him to do? True, he could have gone to the art room and worked on sculpting or something, and he was a little hungry too. But something compelled him to stay there and watch Sakura at work. It amazed him how skilled she was at medicine, it was almost like its own form of art when she used the jutsus, something he knew he couldn't say about anyone else.

Deidara didn't like how he felt about Sakura; it was confusing. The kiss was one thing, but that had been a spur of the moment impulsive type of thing, following the same principles as his art. She had looked pretty, the moment had felt right, end of story. But since then, he noticed he was more and more attached to her, more concerned for where she was, how she was feeling. He couldn't be falling in love- not only would that be crazy, but Leader would kill him for sure.

**F**inally he spoke up, "Hey, Sakura-san, I'll be right back. Hungry..un," he said, pulling his eyes away from her and opening the door.

"Uh-huh." She replied, barely hearing him, not turning from her work. "I'll be done real soon, so whatever…"

Deidara nodded, leaving the room. Before he could reach the kitchen though, Tobi appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Sempai!! Tobi is so happy to see you!!"

"That's nice Tobi..un." Deidara said, trying to ignore Tobi. When Tobi grabbed him in a hug though, it became kind of difficult to do.

"Get off now Tobi-baka. I'm trying to go get lunch." Deidara tried pushing Tobi off of him, but he was gripping too tightly. "Tobi, do you need another lesson on art…un?" He said angrily.

"No Deidara-sempai!" Tobi said happily, "You taught me all about art, I don't think Tobi needs another lesson. Anyway, we went on this realllly scary mission, and I wasn't sure what would happen. I'm glad to see you again!!"

Deidara sighed angrily, reaching awkwardly over Tobi's arm for his clay pouch, the mouth eating a huge chunk of clay. Just as his hand-mouth was about to spit it out, Tobi let go. "Hi Sakura-san!!" He bounded over to her. Deidara turned and grabbed Tobi by the collar before he could latch onto Sakura; she looked exhausted and frazzled, probably due to all of Hidan's harassment.

"Sakura-san doesn't feel well right now Tobi. Go and find Zetsu-san and bother him, or I'm gonna have to tell Leader that you're making Sakura sick."

Tobi stopped bouncing up and down, and Deidara was pretty sure he had a worried look on is face under that mask as he took in a huge gasp of air and said, "Sakura-san is sick?! Tobi is sorry, I didn't mean to make you sick!!" He almost sounded on the verge of tears.

"Oh, Tobi-san, I'll be fine.." Sakura said tiredly.

"Hmph, just leave her alone for now…un. Like I told you." Tobi nodded, and walked off slowly. Deidara thought of using his explosives on the little idiot anyway, but as Sakura walked closer, he shoved the clay back into his pouch. "Well, I guess you really did use up a bunch of your chakra, huh? This is great." Deidara said, smirking.

Sakura looked at him, confused and a bit angry, "How the hell is that great?.."

"Well, now you don't have the strength to try and run away anywhere…un. We can actually go and do something, without me having to worry about you beating my face in. Come on." He grabbed her arm, being careful yet again to make sure he didn't accidentally lick her of anything, and led her down the hallway.

**S**akura was surprised at how trusting he seemed to be. True, she was too weak and low on chakra to try an escape now, she hadn't been lying; but Deidara led her through the maze of hallways without so much as covering her eyes. Of course, she had to admit that it was nearly impossible to discern one hallway from another, or remember in which order they went. Akatsuki must have put some kind of jutsu on the place or something, to ensure that prisoners couldn't escape, and intruders would get lost and never find their way out. Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Something wrong…un? If you really don't wanna go out, we could do something else. I just thought you'd want to." Deidara looked down at her with concern.

"No.. no, it's not that. I'm fine, and would love to get out of this place, thank you." Sakura smiled reassuringly at him. They had finally reached the outside, and not some opening in the middle of the cave complex either, no, the true outside. Sakura blinked in the blinding sunlight, looking around her, smiling and taking it all in. It had been over a week since she'd been taken, and being outside again felt so good. "How far is this.. wherever we're going? I don't know if I can walk really far with so little chakra…." She said, concerned. She really looked forward to wherever they were going.

"Heh, walk..un?! Like hell I'd walk, you've gotta think more artistically Sakura-san." He smirked again, and Sakura was pretty sure she heard him laugh a little as his left hand delved into his cloak, and emerged chewing a piece of clay. When the mouth spit it out, there was a tiny owl sitting on his palm. He let go of Sakura's arm and threw the bird, doing a few handsigns; the bird landed with a 'poof', appearing 10 times its original size. "I know you must've seen this before..un. When we had to go get that stupid Ichibi kid. We're gonna fly."

Sakura approached the clay bird hesitantly, staring at it in amazement. True, she'd seen Deidara flying on something briefly when they'd rescued Gaara, but she had no idea how detailed it was up close.

"It doesn't bite…un." Deidara laughed. "Not unless I make it anyway…" He walked over quickly, grabbing Sakura and lifting her up onto the bird, jumping on right after her.

Sakura did her best not to scream, or throw up her breakfast, as the bird took off on a quick, nearly vertical ascent. She clawed at the back of the bird in terror, doing her best to hang on. Deidara smirked, bending down with seemingly perfect ease and wrapping his arms around her. She didn't know how he didn't fall to his death- he hadn't been holding anything, and moved around on the bird like it was flat ground.

"Ha, you're not scared are you Sakura-san? Don't worry, Sasori no Danna and Tobi both did even worse than you the first time flying. Sasori no Danna was cursing the whole time, and then he fell off and the rest of the day I couldn't even land because he swore he'd kill me…un. And Tobi-baka cried like a baby!" Deidara laughed. Sakura didn't seem to find it funny though, only gripping the clay tighter. "Don't worry, once we're up high enough, it gets better…un." True to his word, he leveled the bird out, and aside from the strong winds whipping Sakura in the face, the bird bobbing on the wind currents felt almost like a peaceful boat ride.

Her life no longer in danger, she stared purposefully down at Deidara's hands, holding her in place. He immediately let go and they spent most of the remaining flight in awkward silence.

**N**aruto had finally convinced everyone to get up again, and they were moving quickly through the trees, Gai and Lee towards the front, having said something about how if they couldn't run at a certain speed when they returned to Konoha they would have to do 5,000 pushups after circling the village 600 times on their hands or something.

Kakashi had barely heard them, thinking on what Naruto had told him when he returned. Sai had made a comment about how he was so dumb, and.. lacked so much manhood to put it carefully.. that he couldn't even manage to get the wood for their fire. He'd ignored Sai and whispered to Kakashi about who he'd run into, and Kakashi couldn't help but feel uneasy. He knew that they were being watched. Looking over at the others, Sai seemed to notice something was wrong too; although his face was pretty blank he looked a bit more attentive than usual. Shikamaru might have noticed, but he seemed lost in thought, probably going over a hundred possible strategies, and possible locations of Akatsuki. Kakashi certainly didn't want a confrontation with Sasuke, but he didn't want to let Sasuke initiate anything that was for sure.

Finally, Kakashi stopped on a tree branch. "Everyone, wait." He called out. "We're being followed."

**"A**nd this is the local tavern.. You'll find Kisame here most nights." Deidara waved his hand for exaggerated effect, the tongue poking out and seeming to point to the building in question. "Isn't this such an exciting town…un?" He said sarcastically.

Sakura laughed nearly as hard as he did after that. She had to admit, for the only town within 40 miles of the Akatsuki hideout, it sucked.

"Wanna go somewhere else…un?" Deidara glanced around the little town boredly. "I saw Zetsu-san for a few minutes this morning he said something about a festival in Takigakure or something. It's a kinda long trip, and I know you're not too happy with my art, but at least it would be something to do."

"I never said I didn't like your art," Sakura laughed playfully, "I just hate flying on it. And yeah, let's get out of here. I guess I can deal with a little while longer on that bird thing…."

**S**asuke sensed Naruto and the others stopping, catching bits of what Kakashi said. He stopped as well waiting to see what they would do and contemplating attacking all of them. When they didn't make any move though, Sasuke motioned for the rest of Team Hebi to follow him and caught up with Sakura's rescue team.

"Oh my God… Sasuke!!" Ino squealed.

Kakashi just looked at Sasuke askance, as he said, "Naruto tells me Sakura was kidnapped. If what he said is true, then we have a common goal- Akatsuki. Allow me to find them and kill my brother, and I'll consider returning to Konoha with you."

Naruto smiled triumphantly at Kakashi, as he replied, "Very well Sasuke. As long as you promise not to interfere with the mission. It would probably be best for everyone," he glanced at Naruto, implying the arguments those two would be sure to have, "if we split up a bit though to cover more ground. Here." Kakashi threw the radio he had been carrying to Sasuke, who caught it easily. "Gai-sensei has the other one, so we can keep in contact."

Sasuke nodded and turned, disappearing the way he'd come.

"Ha! Did you see that Kakashi-sensei!! I knew Sasuke couldn't be some sicko killer, even though he pretended not to care about Sakura-chan, and tried to kill me that one time!"

**"S**ee, I told you you'd like the festival." Deidara said as they walked away from the ride they'd just been on. "Those outfits they had on for that parade though… And that float, what the hell was that supposed to be..un? It looked like a cross between a fish and a donkey got raped by a pig or something…un. They really need to work on their papier-mâché sculpting." Deidara shook his head.

Sakura looked down at the stuffed bird he'd won her, and the necklace he'd bought, against her ardent protests, saying that the pink cherry blossom pendent matched her too well artistically to just let it go. "I guess you're right, that thing was really ugly…" She smiled at him.

As Sakura turned to go and get some dango and special pina colada and raspberry lemonade flavored pocky from a vendor's booth right next to them, Deidara boldly put his arm around her, leading her over. She glanced at him, and he was sure he was going to get it now, chakra depletion or not, but then to his surprise Sakura just looked away again, blushing as she picked out her pocky.

As he paid for the snacks, Sakura protesting once again, he held her tighter, and she snuggled into his grasp. "Maybe we should go on the dragon next.. Or we could go look at their pathetic excuse for an art show…un." He said, pointing with his free hand to the far end of the town square, where there was a tent set up with drawings by the villages children and teens on display.

"Actually Deidara-san, I'm starting to feel really tired. Sorry, but do you think we could head back?" Sakura looked up at him pleadingly.

Deidara nodded, dropping his arm from Sakura's side and walking off towards the outskirts of the village, where he'd left his bird, unnoticed by all the excited festival goers.

**S**akura climbed hesitantly onto the bird, not waiting for Deidara to hoist her up this time. Deidara took off at a much lower incline this time around, though Sakura still seemed a little frightened. He moved closer to her and sat down, taking her hands off of the clay and taking them into his own. "I promise, I wouldn't let you fall…un. It's not like it'd be funny like with Sasori no Danna after all."

Sakura stared at his hands over hers, and could feel the tips of the tongues licking her. "Um, your hands are licking me again." She said gently but pointedly.

Deidara looked embarrassed, and she felt the mouths on his hands close quickly. "Sorry about that…un. Sometimes they just have a mind of their own."

"It's okay," she laughed. "And, thank you…" she said quietly. "I had a really great time today; much better than sitting in that damned cave."

Deidara took his right hand from Sakura's and tilted her chin up gently. As he looked into her eyes, he didn't care about how stupid this was or how he'd regret it tomorrow. He leaned in, and kissed her. And to her surprise, she let him. At first she was shocked and about to pull away, but something in her told her to stop, and she realized she was enjoying it.

As Deidara's clay bird made one last circle of assent over Takigakure, he silently dropped his hand from Sakura's chin, feeling for his clay pouch. He reached in, and upon opening his hand produced a little clay sparrow, which he dropped down towards the art tent at the festival.

As they flew away, the sky lit up, the beautiful sound of the explosion following it. Deidara averted his eyes to glance at it for a second, before returning to Sakura. Life couldn't get any more perfect.

**W**hen they returned to Kawa no Kuni, and landed in a grassy area just outside the hideout, Deidara gently helped Sakura off of the clay bird and walked over to a small hill with trees. "Hey, you hungry…un? I figured maybe it'd be nice to get something to eat, and then eat it out here under the stars."

Sakura glanced up at the crystal clear night. It looked so much more beautiful from up on Deidara's bird, but she had to admit, it would be nice to eat out here, instead of inside the hideout's dining area, with all the other members around. "Alright, that sounds perfect."

"Okay. That pathetic town we went to earlier actually has a few good eating joints. A Chinese place, and two gourmet sushi restaurants. Just lemme know what you want."

"I guess sushi, whichever one you think is better. Just don't take too long, I'm really hungry." Sakura laughed.

"Okay, okay." He waved her off jokingly as he walked back to his bird, Sakura sitting down to rest against one of the trees until he returned.

**S**asori had been briefly watching the scene, and once Deidara left saw his opportunity. He walked swiftly over to Sakura's resting form, causing her to glance up as he approached. "Hello Sakura-san, how're you feeling?" Not that he really cared…

"Um…fine I guess Sasori-san. Still kind of weak from all that healing though; you know, chakra depletion. Sakura stared at him, wondering why he would ask her how she felt. Before she could question him though, he interrupted with another question of his own.

"Sakura-san, did Deidara tell you? He should have known…" he suddenly said in a much more serious tone.

"Tell me what?..." she replied, tilting her head up to him in confusion.

"And I would have thought he would. But after all, he is rather stupid. Probably didn't even cross his mind that you would be obligated to know. I'm sure your father would want you knowing." Sasori sat down near Sakura, a grave look on his face. It would help he knew to create a more dismal atmosphere, though women were prone to acting so rash and emotional anyway. But it was best to be on the safe side. "You know of course that Zetsu-san and Tobi-san returned from their mission today." It was more a statement than a question. Tobi had run into the dining area saying something about Sakura-san not feeling well, interrupting his and Zetsu's conversation some hours ago.

Sakura nodded, trying to read Sasori's face. 'Maybe Naruto?!.. But no, Sasori-san would probably be happy if they captured him…'

"It seems Sakura-san that sometime during yesterday evening, your step-father, from what I gather, grew angry at your mother and killed her." He paused for affect, seeing how she reacted.

Sakura's eyes grew wide in shock and disbelief. "He..he'd never! Otousan would never hurt anyone! You're lying to me, why?!" Sakura stood shakily from her place and angrily turned to go, telling herself it couldn't be true.

Sasori continued, calling after her, "Well, Zetsu-san isn't Akatsuki's spy for nothing. He and Tobi were sent to Takigakure, to look for one of the last jinchuuriki that we need, and from what he told me, on the way back, Tobi got hungry and wanted to stop to get something to eat. You know how he can be… They stopped on the outskirts of Hi no Kuni, and he overheard it being talked about. Knowing who you are, he decided to take a short side trip and see if what he'd heard was true. I would have no reason for lying to you about such things Sakura-san. If I wanted to trick you, I wouldn't have to come up with such outlandish stories, believe me."

Sakura froze in her tracks, and he could see that her body began to rack with sobs which she did her best to hide.

Sasori got up and walked towards her. "I'm sorry Sakura-san, I just thought you had a right to know…" he stated in a flat voice.

Sakura in turn slowly spun her body to face him, tears finally spilling over onto her cheeks like a waterfall as she collapsed into his arms, her body shaking uncontrollably. He allowed her to wrap her arms around him and cry, and after a bit of hesitation he wrapped his arms around her, helping her to keep from falling to the ground in her distress, and rubbing her back comfortingly.

**D**eidara returned, happily walking from where he'd left the exploded remains of his clay bird towards where he'd left Sakura. When he got near to the hideout, Deidara dropped his bags, just staring at the scene before him.

Sasori had of course heard Deidara's bird explode- who wouldn't hear an explosion like that?.. Well except Sakura, who was so wracked with grief right now that she probably wouldn't notice if the sky fell down on top of her. Sasori really still couldn't understand how Deidara had ever managed to get out of the Ninja Academy. He had pulled Sakura into a tighter embrace, turning a bit, and moving one of his hands to ruffle Sakura hair comfortingly. After all, Deidara paying so much attention to the brat wasn't exactly helping things along, better to end things between those two before they could really start, if at all possible. He didn't need to worry about Deidara competing for her affections.

Deidara just stared at the pair for a minute, angrily, before walking over. "Well Sakura-san, I got your food, like you wanted. It's over there by the tree… Hope you two have a nice dinner…un." And he stalked off without another word, into the cave.

Sakura lifted her tearstained face in confusion, to try to ask Deidara what was wrong, and tell him to stop, but her voice cracked, weak and dry as it was, and Deidara was already gone anyway.

"Nevermind him, Sakura-san. He can't help his attitude problems." Sasori looked into her eyes, wiping her tears away with his cold wooden hands.

Sakura nodded weakly, too distressed to argue, and barely choked out, "C-can we please g-go inside Sasori-san?.." Sasori carefully repositioned Sakura, wrapping his right arm around her waist and leaning her head against his shoulder, leading her inside, all thoughts of her moonlit dinner with Deidara forgotten.

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So yes review!! This chapter may have confused you a bit. If so, let me know. And if you think of it, the Deidara and Sakura scene is totally believable.. he's been growing on her, what can I say? He's a nice guy, the moment just helped her finally realize that somewhere other than in the back of her mind. And Sasori... well, if you don't get it yet, you'll see... 


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, well I was told by some very nasty writer on here that I can't write little replies to your reviews up here. They threatened to have me banned. So, I'll just personally reply to everything from now on. But, I thank you all for sticking with me, through thick and thin. I can't apologize enough for the lateness of this chapter, or the one coming next week. I'm sorry!!! But ancient Greek is just THE worst class ever!

_The summary: Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 10_

**A**t around 9 the next morning, Sakura decided she was hungry. Really, she didn't know how she could even be thinking about food; everything right now seemed to make her so nauseous and dizzy. But she lifted her head from her tear saturated pillow, giving I to her loudly protesting stomach as she made her way to the door. …Funny, didn't Deidara or Sasori usually come bring her breakfast, or wake her to bring her down to the kitchen to eat with everyone else by this time of the morning?... She glanced back over her shoulder at the clock- 9:12am.

At first Sakura was a little annoyed that they'd seemed to have forgotten about her, but suddenly she remembered where she was, mentally slapping herself, slightly coming out of her depression induced stupor. Quietly she looked out the door on both sides, then hurried out into the hall, to try to find the way out of Akatsuki's huge complex; enough was enough, she missed her friends, and who was to say they wouldn't have something happen to them next, while she was stuck here?

The hideout had never been packed from what Sakura had seen, except for maybe the dining area, but as she walked through a maze of empty hall after empty hall, somehow it just didn't seem right. There should be someone around, right? But nobody came out to try to stop her, it didn't make any sense.

**F**inally she recognized the hall that she wound up in; it was where Deidara's 'art room' was, and the dining room was somewhere down the hall and around a corner. 'How the hell did I get that turned around?! I'm pretty much back where I started, this isn't a way out…'

**D**eidara had been brooding outside nearly all night, as evidenced by the huge crater-like area around him, which was a lush forest the day before.

This pristine setting, and his reflections on the past day's events, were suddenly broken though by a loud, annoying yell. "Deidara-sempaaaiiiii!!!" Deidara glanced up as Tobi skidded to a stop in front of him, doubled over trying to catch his breath.

"Look, Tobi, I'm not in the mood…un. Go bother Zetsu-san, or Itachi or someone if you want to play, or need a book read to you or something.." Deidara slowly got up from his place on the ground, brushing himself off lightly from the accumulated dirt, and digging a hand into his nearly empty clay pouch. Like hell he was going to stand around and listen to Tobi's crap all day; but he'd have to fly to get far enough away.

"Deidara-sempai wants to read me a book?... Well, the Leader said I had to come out here and get you, for a sealing ceremony and some kind of really important meeting. But if you'd rather sit here and read a book and blow stuff up, I'll go and tell him you can't come, like a good boy." Tobi replied happily, more than willing to help out his sempai by delivering his message to Pein.

"Ugh, I'll be in, in a few minutes Tobi, it's not that I'm not gonna come. Don't worry, just go. Give me a few minutes to…admire my work…un, and I'll be in." Deidara said exasperatedly, turning away from his annoying ex-partner.

"Okay Deidara-sempai!" Tobi replied enthusiastically, bounding off. Tobi wasn't sure of exactly what it was that put Deidara so down in the dumps, but contrary to popular belief, he wasn't stupid, and he had a good enough guess at what could have caused it. At least he wouldn't have to order Pein to kill Deidara for interfering with important plans, as long as things continued along this way.

Deidara stood there for a moment, staring at the destruction he had made, before turning around and grudgingly following Tobi into the base.

**"**_**T**hat's the Leader's daughter, isn't it?"_ **"What amazing skills of perception. Yes, obviously. And she isn't supposed to be wandering around without Deidara-san or Sasori-san."** _"Maybe she's gotten lost trying to find the kitchen or something? We should go find out what's going on and see if we can help her."_**"Please… you and I both know what's going on. But we should definitely go talk to her though."**

**S**akura pulled at a door along the end of the hallway she had found herself in, forcing all of her strength into the ornate handle. Finally the door gave way, and Sakura looked on with anticipation… into a broom closet.

"Kami, isn't there any way out of this place?!" She whispered to herself, feeling more like screaming in frustration. She glanced down the empty hallway, trying to figure out which way to try next, turning back soon after to close the closet door; she bit back a choked scream as that plant, Zetsu was it?, materialized from the wall next to the door, his Venus flytrap slowly opening.

"_Can I help you?"_**"I think Leader-sama spoke with you about any escape attempts, Sakura-san. Come with me." **Sakura backed up against the far wall, staring at him wide-eyed for a moment, before bolting down the hallway.

Zetsu merely sank back into the wall, reappearing in front of Sakura at the end of the hallway.

Sakura skidded to a stop, ensuring a safe distance between herself and the human plant, and lowered her head for a moment. She wasn't stupid, and she knew that even though the members of Akatsuki wouldn't kill her, as their Leader's daughter, if she tried to fight her way out now she'd have every member in the base here trying to peacefully subdue her in minutes. She had no idea what Zetsu's specialty jutsus were. And as for her father… if she attacked and possibly killed any members of his organization, somehow she doubted he would be so hesitant to exact punishment on her, no matter how loving and doting he seemed during all of their past meetings.

Thinking quickly she said, "I was looking for Deidara-san, and I got lost. This stupid place is like maze, and I couldn't find my way back to my room, or find anyone to ask. It's a good thing you came along and found me." She balled her fists behind her back, holding back her anger and paranoia.

Zetsu looked at her askance, not believing her for a moment. **"Deidara is outside, Sasori is in his room down the hall from yours. Right now, we're all needed in a meeting though, so you have to come with me." **Zetsu turned and walked in the direction Sakura had been heading.

Sakura paused for a moment, but when Zetsu stopped and was about to turn back towards her, she followed after him, still sure to keep a safe enough distance between them though.

**D**eidara stood on the right index finger of the sealing statue, watching Tobi bounce up and down excitedly, and wondering where the hell this supposed jinchuuriki was. He glanced down briefly to where the jinchuuriki should be laying, at the foot of the statue, before looking back up quickly as his ring began to glow and the Leader materialized in the room along with his partner.

"I had been assured by Zetsu-san that Itachi and Kisame would not fail me again, and had discovered and successfully retrieved the 8-tails, but it has just come to my attention that I was misinformed and during the course of Zetsu's return here, that somehow you two failed to retain hold of it?" He glared sternly at Itachi and Kisame, his voice low and dangerous.

Kisame squirmed under his gaze, looking like he wanted to crawl out of his skin as he racked his brains for a reply that would suffice to explain the failure.

The Uchiha remained as impassive as ever, looking as though the Leader could have been having a pleasant conversation about the weather instead of berating them for their mission's failure.

"Um, well Leader-sama, sir, we finally caught it and all, and I and made sure to drain most of her chakra, but the jinchuuriki had some kind of chakra replenishment we didn't know about. We just finished talking to Zetsu-san, and then me and Itachi-san knew we were being watched." Kisame rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I mean, it was fun," he couldn't help but smirk, "they put up a good fight, unlike most ninja. But.. all of a sudden the jinchuuriki was full on, 8 tails, and…"

"We attempted to subdue it, but believe one of the Rock-nin reached the jinchuuriki while we were preoccupied during battle. We are still unsure of how chakra was restored, but after assessing the situation and our own depleted chakra levels, found it unsafe to continue retrieval at that time." Itachi interjected coolly, summing up the events leading to the jinchuuriki's escape.

Deidara smirked widely to himself, even though he did feel a bit bad for Kisame. But it served that self-righteous Uchiha right, always thinking he was the best and all. Now he'd failed to get two jinchuurikis. The Leader must be pissed.

"Well, Itachi, Kisame, since you two are apparently incapable of completing the simplest of tasks, I will have to reassign this mission. You two will be placed on a probationary status for the time being, so I recommend you don't fail me again." Here Pein paused, as the heavy doors to the room were opened, echoing through the cavernous space.

Zetsu poked his head in, looking at the Leader expectantly. Before anything was said, the Leader glanced over to Tobi, then gave Zetsu a curt nod. Zetsu turned, his form disappearing from the doorway for a moment, before the doors were opened completely and he walked in, with his hand lightly on Sakura's back to guide her.

Sakura walked slowly through the doorway, glaring angrily back at Zetsu, who was following not more than a foot behind her.

Kisame and Deidara both stared wide-eyed at the new arrival. "Hey, she wasn't gonna help with the sealing, was she?... I mean, if we needed someone else, we could always haul Hidan in here, but I don't know if it's really right to make the girl join in…" Kisame said, worried that the Leader had wanted his daughter to take part in the ceremony- the ceremony which now, thanks in part to him, couldn't take place.

"No, Kisame-san. I wouldn't ask that my daughter take part in the ceremony unless she wishes to do so. And I'm sure she doesn't. Sakura is merely here to watch, since there's nobody available to watch her, and due to that fact, she got lost. It's much safer for her if she's here with us." He replied, before getting back to what he had been saying before.

"As I was saying before the interruption, Sasori-san, Deidara-san, you two are the only available team as it stands to bring back the 8 tails. I will take my daughter for the week, as I'm sure that gives you enough time to find information on the jinchuuriki's whereabouts and capture it. As I informed you all the last time we met, both Kakuzu and Orochimaru had been killed. It has been brought to my attention that now both Uchiha Sasuke who as you all remember killed Orochimaru, and the Kyuubi vessel along with a team from Konoha- including the Copy-Ninja Kakashi- are attempting to find this location, in order to 'rescue' my daughter. I want you all to avoid them, at all costs. We cannot afford to lose any more members, and I don't have the time to go searching for your replacements. If they were to gain information from you, or learn of the location of this base, a good portion of Akatsuki's plans would be undermined."

Sakura gasped. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were coming to save her after all. And… Sasuke? She couldn't believe it, the last time she'd seen him, he'd been ready to kill Team 7, and if Orochimaru hadn't dragged him away… Could Naruto have somehow found him and finally brought him back to Konoha while she'd been stuck in this hellhole? She brushed away from Zetsu, standing at the foot of the statue trying to make sense of everything her father had said.

"What?! But Leader-sama we already captured our jinchuuriki, why do we have to clean up after the perfect little Uchiha..un?!" Deidara yelled explosively. He wasn't like Hidan, he was usually careful to keep his temper around the Leader, but he'd tried to clean up after that pompous Uchiha before, and all it did was leave him armless and the laughingstock of the organization for a good month.

"Deidara, shut up." Sasori intoned from across the statue.

The Leader just stared at Deidara for a moment, a bit taken aback, before replying, "Deidara, I'm getting tired of your attitude. It's one thing when directed at your partner, but I won't take such insubordination. Don't force me to send Zetsu and Tobi, because I can assure you you'll regret it much more than Kisame or Itachi will regret their failure."

Konan lightly touched Pein's arm, trying to comfort her friend without crossing any lines, and whispered something to him. "Yes, I'm aware Konan-san. I'll be going now. Sakura, come. And Deidara, Sasori, I expect the Hachibi in a weeks time."

Sakura stared up at the imposing statue, reluctantly sending chakra to her feet and making her way up.

"Wait a minute…un. I'm not gonna be stuck with that stupid puppet, un. He'll probably get all sappy again and get himself beat up by an old lady," Deidara laughed. "Tobi, come on, you're coming with me. Sasori-no-Danna can stay with Sakura-san or whatever, I'm sure that's what they both want anyway. You helped me get the three tailed biju, you're gonna help me with this one."

"But.. but Deidara-senpai. You didn't do anything, you know it was my one hit K.O." Tobi said, testing Deidara's patience. "Anyway, I thought I'm Zetsu-san's partner now senpai…"

"Tch. You're always complaining I don't spend enough time with you, and here I wanna take you with me, and you complain that you don't wanna go…un!" Deidara jumped off of the statue angrily, turning back to the Leader and saying, "Don't worry, I'll find the stupid jinchuuriki, and I don't need help doing it either."

"Nooo!! Wait, Deidara-senpai! Tobi's sorry! I mean, I do want to spend time with you, even if you can't control your temper.." Tobi hurried after Deidara. "Sorry Zetsu-san, please don't be angry at Tobi!"

Zetsu gave Tobi an eerie smile, which only Tobi could find reassuring. Sakura shuddered at the sight, glad she'd gotten away from the plant. _"I could really care less Tobi, if you really want to go with Deidara-san. Just make sure you're a good boy…"_ **"Besides, you're always getting in the way during reconnaissance missions, you're better off with Deidara since you two are so alike." **

Tobi paused, confused, and tilted his head to the side, while Kisame, who knew he was still in hot water, tried his best to stifle a fit of laughter. Even Sasori couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself at that.

"Tobi-san, are you certain you're capable of this mission, and would like to take Sasori-san's place?" The Leader questioned.

"Yep! Tobi's ready to go battle more demons. And Tobi won't run away this time either!" He gave a little salute to the Leader, the candlelight in the room gleaming on his mask and giving the eyehole a strange glow as it flickered. Deidara stalked out of the room, Tobi following close behind jumping up and down in excitement.

"If you'd prefer, and if Sakura-san agrees, I could handle caring for her until Deidara returns from the mission." Sasori said carefully.

"I don't think that's the best idea, after previous circumstances. How can I be reassured that there will be no attempts to harm or kill her again?"

"Ask Sakura-san, I'm sure she can reassure you if you don't believe me. Although I told you I had learned my lesson, and was apologetic sir."

"Um… I could help to watch her, if you don't trust Sasori-san or something. I mean, what the hell am I gonna do to her, feed her to my fish?..." Kisame broke in, trying to lighten the mood.

"Pein-san, if she's harmed…"

Pein held up a hand to silence his partner. "Sakura, I hesitate to leave you in the care of these two, but it's my understanding that to have a working relationship with a child, you have to make compromises. I've told you, I want you to feel as at home here in Akatsuki as you did in Konoha; so tell me, which do you prefer, to remain here with Sasori-san and Kisame-san to care for you, or to come with me to Amegakure?"

Sakura nearly choked on her words. The Leader had just informed her of the true location of Akatsuki's headquarters; and while it obviously didn't help her with escape, since it wasn't her location, once rescued she could tell Tsunade-sama. But, he must have known he said it, right? Could he really have put that much trust in her in so little time?

All Sakura knew was that she had to get out of here, and quick. "I.. want to stay here, if that's alright…. Otousan." The word felt like acid on her tongue. "Sasori-san wasn't lying, he has tried to act nicer, and yesterday, when I heard about Okaasan…" Sakura trailed off, not willing to let herself cry in front of the entirety of Akatsuki. The tears welled in her eyes, shining like diamonds in the flickering candlelight.

Her father suddenly appeared in front of her, drying her eyes before he grasped her firmly by the shoulders. He spoke in a low voice, full of compassion, "Oh, yes, I just heard the news myself Sakura. Such a tragedy, but I'm not surprised. The village has been destroying itself piece by piece for years. Your stepfather was no exception to the corruption of a village like that. But take heart dear Sakura; don't try to hide the pain, instead remember what was taken from you and use your pain to better society, to realize that you can prevent others from feeling the same. That Sakura is our real goal, regardless of what your shishou may have told you about us. All we wish to do is to help others like ourselves. I hope in time, you too can understand that Sakura."

Before she could say or do anything in reply, he was back on the statue, and his and Konan's astral projections faded away.

"Heh, the wasn't so bad, eh Itachi-san?" Kisame smiled widely. "I thought he would put us on bathroom duty, or make us watch those sick educational cartoons with Tobi every morning."

"Hn. It could have been worse. However he may still decide on a more fit punishment." Itachi replied stoically. He left without another word.

"So, uh… babysitting, huh? Never done it before, so I've got no idea what the hell we're supposed to do." Kisame laughed.

"Don't worry Kisame-san. Thank you for your help in offering to watch Sakura-san, but I'll inform you if we need you for anything." Sasori told him.

"Heh, well that's a relief. I'll be in my room then for now.."

Sakura was still a little worked up, but relieved that at least she wouldn't be spending the week in another new base, with her frightening father and his girlfriend or whatever she was as her only company. Her voice shaking, she turned to Sasori, "Um, thanks I guess for offering to watch me so I could stay. I mean… I don't like you, or Deidara-san, but out of everyone here, I guess you're the…" Sakura searched for a word. 'Most normal? No, though in a place like this, maybe they actually were. Nicest? Not exactly, though Deidara, in a good mood, she really couldn't complain about- like another Naruto.' "Because you got assigned to me when I got here, I guess I feel like the transition is easier around you guys… especially when you aren't trying to kill me." Sakura forced a laugh. "I'm sorry Deidara left, but I'm glad you both didn't is what I guess I'm trying to say… And maybe whatever his problem is, he'll get over it on his mission or something. Tobi is weird, but he's always so happy, he's gotta be able to cheer Deidara-san up…"

Sasori just nodded curtly. "I doubt Deidara will ever be able to control that temper. Or that you will ever be able to control your silly emotions; but I don't wish for miracles, and I suppose I'm glad I could help Sakura-san."

Sakura followed Sasori as he too left the meeting room, her mind lost in thoughts of Naruto and Sasuke coming to rescue her any day now. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't bursh past what her father had said. There was no way Akatsuki was made to help people in pain, just no way. But then what was the real purpose?

* * *

So yeah, this chapter is crappy, and not much happens, but next chapter is going to have lots of angst, drama, tragedy, and even some romance thrown in!! Keep your eyes peeled for late next week!!! And don't hate me for it either, just warning you now... But yeah, I don't know, I can't explain it, but because of all the shit happening next chapter, I couldn't make much happen in this one. I wanted to...I just couldn't manage it. I'm sorry!! Oh, and um, Deidara fans(me included, lol) I don't think there's much more DeiSaku on the way... heads up for you guys. This IS a SasoSaku fic after all. :) 


	11. Chapter 11

Okay ya know what? I gues you just shouldn't expect regular updates from me anymore. I can't keep to my deadlines, and when I try, all I come up with is crap.. and you don't wanna read that... I'm not abandoning this story- EVER- until it's finished, but I'm just saying it won't be updated weekly or whatever. I'm sorry...

Also...I feel jipped. I SHOULD HAVE been doing regular updates, because I had the same ideas for this story as what was suddenly revealed to us this week in Chapter 385!! Well, I'm not altering my well thought out plans for this fanfic, but I apologize in advance if it seems a lot like the whole Itachi and Madara thing in the manga... I think you'll like my version a tiny bit better though, when we get there. ...And as for this chapter, yes it's like the manga. This, unlike what I just ranted about above, was done purposely. :) Sorry if you're majorly confused now!!

_The summary: Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?..._

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 11_

**"D**eidara-senpai, how much farther is Iwagakure?!" Tobi called up exasperatedly to his senpai, stopping for a moment on a tree branch to catch his breath. Deidara's clay birds always seemed to fly so fast.

Deidara laughed a little to himself. The bird slowed for a minute, almost hovering, as Deidara turned and replied with a huge smirk, "It's in the other direction Tobi you baka…un. The Leader said we have a week, right? Who says we have to go there now? They'll be expecting an attack… and besides, I have a few scores to settle..un."

"De-Deidara-senpai, what do you mean?..." Tobi asked in concern.

"What do you think I mean Tobi…un? Use your brain for once!" Deidara turned and the bird set off again, leaving Tobi running to catch up.

"Deidara-senpai, you know, it gets kind of hard running after a while. Maybe later I can ride on your bird too?..." He asked hopefully.

"Not a chance Tobi. The last time I let you have a ride, you threw up all over my clay, and my clothes…un." Deidara paused for a moment, thinking. "You know what Tobi. Let's see how much of a help you are…un. Last time I was in a fight, you just stood around like a dumbass, screaming and crying. Maybe if you actually do something this time, you'll earn a ride…un. But all I'm worried about right now is finding the copy ninja and that little blonde loudmouth jinchuuriki, and Itachi's little brother. It's about time they got some payback. Imagine the look on that stupid Uchiha's face…un."

"But, senpai, Leader-sama said not to go near any of those people. We can't go fight all of them!... Tobi can't disobey Leader-sama… Besides, you got your butt kicked by them, who says you can beat them now?..." Tobi laughed, even though there was concern evident in his voice. He wanted to help his senpai, but to disobey the Leader- as well as possibly put both Sasuke and the jinchuuriki in danger- weren't exactly things on his to do list. And they'd been through this before too.

"I don't care what Leader-sama says! Okay..un? He's not the one whose art was mocked and unappreciated! And I'll show them this time, got it?!" Deidara screamed at Tobi, enraged.

Tobi was sure that Deidara would use his explosives on him any second, but instead the clay bird just flew faster, leaving Tobi far behind. "Senpai, wait!! Tobi's sorry!!"

**"W**hat did my father mean, when he said that Akatsuki's goal is to bring peace?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "I'm not stupid you know, just because I'm a kunoichi. I want to know what the real goal is, and I want to know now." Sakura stood from the bed, fists clenched. She knew she must look like Naruto right now, but she wasn't in the best of moods, and with them coming, didn't have a whole lot of time to gather information either.

"Really. And what if I don't feel like telling you?..." Sasori replied indifferently, not even turning from his puppet.

"I wonder how my father would feel about you talking to me in that tone of voice?" Sakura remarked. "I'm stuck here with you people, having to eat and sleep in the same building as you, I have a right to know the truth already! I've been here for almost two weeks!!"

Sasori abruptly turned in his seat, placing the tool he'd been using down on the puppet's body and staring at Sakura, contemplating for a moment. Suddenly he got up and walked over to her, as she tried to back up, ramming into the closet doors and banging her head. With nowhere left to go, Sakura was stuck staring at Sasori, who was now within inches of her.

He grabbed her chin, brusquely tilting her head up, and staring into her eyes. 'Oh my God, what is this?!... First Deidara, and now him?!... I guess they all think of this as one big Sakura-orgy!..' She thought to herself, cringing as it seemed as though he were going to kiss her. She took in a sharp breath, steeling herself and trying to wrest her head from his grasp.

But instead, he just as suddenly dropped her chin, patting her lightly on the head and returning to his desk. "Your father wasn't lying Sakura-san. Akatsuki's goal really is to use the biju to bring peace. Of course, the details of how to do so are a bit sketchy, not to mention nearly everyone here has their own agenda that keeps them in Akatsuki. Hidan's for example is to spread his religion and sacrifice people. Deidara's is to blow up as much as he can. Akatsuki just helps to further personal goals, all while we collectively work towards the end of war. I don't expect you to understand though. Now be quiet, I don't need to be disturbing again while adding the weapons to this puppet."

As sounds of wood hitting against metal resumed through the silent room, Sakura sat down on the bed, absentmindedly rubbing her chin, deep in thought.

**K**onan wasn't normally one to question, she just did as she was told by Madara-sama, or by Pein. But after being there to witness him interacting with his daughter, the one question that had been nagging her for weeks just wouldn't go away. 'Why?'

Konan quietly slid the door open, walking out into the rain. Seeing Pein sitting there staring out at the village, supposedly deep in thought, she decided it best to come back later, and reached for the door handle.

"Konan-san. There was something you needed to speak to me about?" Pein's commanding voice asked.

Konan hesitated, unsure of what to do, or how to start. "No, I just came to see where you were.." Konan's voice faltered, she knew that it was obvious he would be sitting here in the rain, he always did.

He turned to glance back at her for a moment, looking slightly confused, before turning back around and returning to whatever he had been doing. "I know you better than that Konan."

She wrung her hands slightly before approaching him, starting quietly, "I just don't understand Pein-san, why all this time you never told me that you had a child."

The silence was deafening, and Konan wished with every ounce of her being that she could take back her words. She should have known better than to question a god.

Just as she was turning to leave, his voice broke through the silence, "You're wondering why you of all people didn't know for so long." It was more a statement than a question. "There was no need to tell you."

Konan faltered, as she waited for him to continue, the heavy rain pouring down onto her hair and dripping into her face.

"The child is a bastard, nothing more, nothing less. I only married the mother in order that she keep the child, and once Sakura was born, I left. Her mother has served her purpose, as will the child when the time comes. I hold no affections for her, and Madara-sama will do with her however he sees fit, as I said the last time we met with him." Pein turned once more to Konan, his gaze boring into her. "Also Konan, I would like for you to come with me the next time I meet with Sakura; I'm sure you'll understand my reasoning as the situation calls for it. After all, with her disillusioned values, she is proving very hard to break."

Konan nodded once before turning to leave, silently closing the door behind her. Contrary to what Pein had said, she knew him far too well, and from what she had seen, believed he did hold some affection for the girl. But at least she knew he wasn't losing it, and that she had no reason to feel her trust was betrayed. She pulled the drenched rose from her hair, throwing it away and quickly beginning work on a new one.

**T**sunade nearly choked on her sake when a loud knock on her door resounded through the space, followed by the door being opened before she even had time to reply. Shizune hurried to clean up the empty bottles of alcohol strewn about the floor, when Jiraiya suddenly walked into the middle of the room, nearly causing her to drop them again in her surprise. She hadn't even thought he was in the village right now…

Tsunade had recovered from her shock at being barged in on much sooner. "Jiraiya, what're you doing here?" She asked putting her glass down onto her desk and folding her arms.

"Well, I have some information you might want to hear Tsunade." Jiraiya smiled widely at Tsunade.

"Well what is it? Spill it, I have paperwork to do… and this better not be something about one of your books either." Tsunade said offhandedly.

"What if I told you that I knew the exact location of the Akatsuki leader?..." He replied coyly, crossing his arms in front of his chest and waiting for her reaction.

"What?! How, where?!" Tsunade yelled, standing up and pounding her fists against the desk, effectively shattering the wood and leaving her papers to float around the room on a slow cascade to the floor. "I want to know everything, we need to redirect the teams and lay an ambush!" Shizune dropped the bottles she was carrying, staring at Jiraiya in shock.

Jiraiya held up his hand to quiet her down. "He doesn't have your student Sakura with him, if that's why you're getting so worked up. From what I've learned, he's been living in Amegakure with another member of Akatsuki, and your student is being kept hidden in some other location. …But that doesn't mean we can't gather information from their leader."

Tsunade shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she walked around to the front of the desk. "What would you have me do then, sit around and wait?! We have to send in someone to gather information, and redirect the teams there as soon as-"

"I'm going to infiltrate Amegakure, personally, and find out if all this information is correct. I'm also going to find out where your little student is. Once I get back to you, we can decide exactly what course of action you should take." Jiraiya smiled, his eyes closed, an almost arrogant look on his face.

"What do you mean?... You can't honestly think you're going there by yourself!... I'll send a team, it's too dangerous for you just going on your own!" Tsunade nearly screamed at him, walking even closer to where he was standing.

Jiraiya shook his head. "You and I both know Tsunade that it would be too dangerous for any team that you could send. I do this kind of stuff all the time, and besides, I'm one of the Sannin, right?" He rubbed the back of his head.

Tsunade looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry Jiraiya, that you always get roped into these sorts of things… Just..don't do anything stupid, okay?" She looked up into his face for a moment, "Come back alive… If I were to lose you, on top of everything else that's happened…"

Jiraiya laughed. "What, you would cry? Heh, I'm so honored. …Well, I guess it's nice to know that you'd actually show some emotion instead of that temper of yours for once. But don't worry," he waved her off. "But it really bothers you so much, how about we make a bet?... You bet that I'll die- after all, there's no way you could ever win a bet."

Tsunade stared at him mouth agape. "Are you crazy?! This isn't something to be joking about Jiraiya!.." She balled her fists, ready to send him through a window at his stupidity. Couldn't he just stop joking around for once?

He held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay," he said with a smile on his face. "But it is true; you never win a bet… So anyway, I'll be fine, and when I come back without a scratch and you lost our little wager, then I get to-" He paused at the deadly glare Tsunade was giving him. "Anyway, I'll be going now." He turned, giving her a slight wave before closing the door behind him, leaving Tsunade in a stunned silence.

**"W**ho's there? Show yourselves! And Naruto, if you're harassing me again, I swear, I'll turn right around and forget about helping you to find Sakura.." That would teach him; Sasuke knew Naruto was so stupid that he still thought Sasuke was only helping them out to save Sakura, not to find his brother. Sakura was the farthest thing from his mind though as two figures in black cloaks adorned with blood red clouds stepped out from the surrounding greenery. Cloaks just like his brother wore…

**T**he way Itachi hadn't even batted an eye when Deidara and Tobi left had annoyed Deidara to no end. That Uchiha, always thinking he was so high and mighty because of those eyes- even when he screwed things up and the burden got shoved onto Deidara to clean up. Deidara wanted nothing more than to gouge those perfect little eyes out- that would teach him about appreciating hard work and real talent. Here surely though, after Itachi had to face the truth that his brother had been killed by Deidara's artistic skill, the Uchiha would have no choice but to accept and appreciate Deidara's art. To accept that no bloodline limit just handed to you could ever be worth as much as hard work, talent, and imagination, and that true beauty didn't come from some precious bloodline.

Tobi rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You must be Itachi's little brother..! Wow, you look a lot like him!!" He said brightly, glancing at Deidara and noticing the manic expression he wore.

"I like this one Tobi-san!! Look at his eyes; such emotion, such hatred and malice…un! This is going to be fun!"

Deidara averted his gaze slightly upwards, not enough for Sasuke to notice, as Tobi said worriedly, "I'm really going to have to apologize to Itachi-san after this…"

"Oh shut up Tobi, you-"

"Those outfits… You're with Akatsuki." Sasuke interrupted. It wasn't a question. "You must know my brother then. Where is he?" He glared at the two cloaked figures before him, as though his stare would cause them to spill everything about the organization.

"Heh, like we'd tell you…un." Deidara said offhandedly, smiling widely at Sasuke. "I still can't believe that a stupid kid like this killed Orochimaru, huh Tobi?..."

Tobi was making strange incoherent noises though, and suddenly clung to his senpai's cloak. "Get off Tobi, what the hell are you doing?! Un!"

"Look at his eyes senpai, they're just like Itachi-san's…" Tobi whispered.

Deidara looked back towards the young Uchiha, noticing the change in his eyes. "Sharingan, huh? Yeah, he's definitely Itachi's little brother, the misunderstanding bastard… Don't worry Tobi, this'll be a piece of cake...un. My art always wins!" Wrenching Tobi from his cloak, Deidara glanced up, Sasuke following his gaze. There, not even 10 feet above him, was a huge clay bird that had somehow gone unnoticed. The sculpture careened down at him, as Deidara screamed, "Katsu!", dragging Tobi with him as he made it a safe distance away, into the trees.

He smirked triumphantly, staring at the dust rising up from the sight of impact. Suddenly though, he saw a flash of movement, and Sasuke tore at him and Tobi with his katana drawn. Deidara jumped safely to a branch, while Tobi was seemingly sliced in half. Deidara knew better though, and looked down at the Uchiha tauntingly.

"You don't seem able to keep your mouth shut… And since you chose to attack me for no reason, I guess I have no choice but to fight you. But first, I want you to answer me some questions about Itachi!!"

Deidara just smiled more widely at the enflamed Uchiha, grabbing for some more highly explosive clay as Tobi got shakily up behind the boy. Oh yes, this was sure to be a blast.

**A**gainst her better judgment, Sakura had dozed off on Sasori's bed. It wasn't as though she hadn't tried to keep her eyes open, but after the tumultuous night she'd spent crying over her mother, she was drained. She had nodded off without even realizing it, warm dreams of her friends and family in Konoha wrapping like a soft blanket around her distressed mind.

When her loud snoring suddenly broke through the tranquil silence of the room, Sasori threw down his tools and turned to glare at the brat's sleeping form. Had the girl no sense of propriety? Here he had allowed he to sit on his bed, even while he was working, and he had even indulged her in a small conversation. But even Deidara knew when Sasori needed quiet time alone, to concentrate on his art. He stared at her sleeping form a few moments longer before getting up, fully prepared to toss her off the bed and out into the hall.

As he approached the bed however, chakra strings ready, Sakura turned, her snores ceasing, as she curled up within herself and her lips turned upwards in a huge, satisfied smile. It wasn't as though he cared about the girl getting any rest, oh no, or that he cared that she seemed so content or looked so angelic laying on the bed, the dim shadows of light encroaching from his workdesk making her skin appear as flawless as porcelain or finely sanded wood. Sasori wasn't sure what it was that made him pause, but looking at her, he realized just how much a work of art the girl truly was. Besides, he thought pushing everything else from his mind, he had set out to appear kind and caring to the brat, and he wasn't going to let her small annoyances ruin his plans now by igniting his temper.

He awkwardly covered her with the frayed blanket that lay on the bed, grumbling as he turned back to his work.

Not five minutes later, Sakura woke with a start, glancing around her quickly. Her sweet dreams of Konoha had somehow turned sharply into a horrible nightmare, and as she looked at her surroundings, she chided herself for even having fallen asleep. In Sasori's room, of all places; she could have wound up being turned into a puppet, and would have never even known.

Sasori didn't even turn from his puppet when he heard the girl hyperventilating as she came to. "I see you finally woke up. I expected you to have better manners then to fall asleep and start snoring away on someone else's bed. I suppose you aren't worth as much as I thought."

Sakura was indignant. "What?!... Look, if you had a problem with it, you should've woken me up! I didn't mean to fall asleep anyway! ….And I don't snore!" She balled her fists, thinking back to situations where Naruto and Sai had told her that she snored like an old man or a chainsaw, and she had subsequently punched them through a wall. This was no different, and she was ready to do the same to Sasori if he prodded her anymore.

He got up, approaching the bed. "Would you rather have me lie to you? You snore, so loudly I couldn't continue my work. …At any moment I was ready to wake you up and throw you from the room."

Sakura stared in disbelief. He'd had a chance to throw her out of the room, but instead had chosen to leave her on the bed? "..Why didn't you?"

"I suppose I felt some small amount of pity for you, that or some other useless emotion. After all, a skilled kunoichi like you, reduced to this, going through all that you have. Besides, when you were sleeping, you looked like a perfect work of art." Sasori mentally cringed at that last statement, but he knew it was needed, and it was the perfect opportunity. There was no way she could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn't utterly sincere.

"I…me?... Heh.." Sakura was stunned that Sasori, indifferent, overly critical, anti-feminist Sasori of all people would actually give her a compliment- and one that obviously held so much meaning for him as that. "…Thank you.." She said quietly.

"Hmph. Now, can I get back to work, or are you going to make more noise?" Sasori glared at her and turned back towards his desk.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Sasori complimenting her was weird, to say the least. Although she had to admit, deep down, that it really meant a lot to her, especially coming from someone with an attitude like his. 'I don't get it… But, maybe after everything that's happened, he's actually decided to be nice?...' **'Hell yeah! A hot guy like that, complimenting us on our beauty, can't get much better than that!' **'Shut up..he is not hot first of all, and besides, he probably says that to everyone he wants to make into a puppet..' Sakura mulled it over n her mind, trying her best to shut up Inner Sakura as she tried to figure out what the hell had gotten into Sasori. Maybe it was just that she was the only girl available to all of these men… though Sasori had never seemed the type to get emotional, even when he had acknowledged her skill back in the cave the day she and Chiyo-baasama had defeated him.

**"W**hoa, for real?! Oh my gosh, where, dattebayo?! I've got to go and save her!! How can you all be sitting around, come on!!!" Naruto felt as though he could explode.

As Sai glanced at him in annoyance, he thought to himself that the Dickless Wonder could very well explode at any moment, he was so red from screaming and jumping all over the place. Wouldn't that be a miracle, in and of itself? Sai glanced back down to his sketchbook, doing his best to ignore the blonde idiot, along with the girl babbling on animatedly at his side. He just couldn't get what was so exciting, he certainly didn't feel worked up.

"Naruto, please sit down…" Kakashi intoned from a nearby tree, where he was sitting reading the latest Icha Icha book. He didn't even bother to glance up at his student, sighing as he repositioned himself against the trunk of the tree.

"What?! How can I calm down?! You heard what that ANBU guy said!! We have to go save her now!" Naruto yelled at Kakashi, balling his fists in anger.

"Ugh… weren't you paying attention?... How troublesome…" Shikamaru tried to send a glare at Naruto, but he was so lazy and tired at the moment, it just didn't seem to have much affect. "They said that after speaking with various villagers, that they know the country Akatsuki is most likely located in. Ame no Kuni is a large country and the borders are heavily guarded against any intruders." Shikamaru sighed, leaning back to look at the passing clouds. "It would be stupid to rush in there now, when we have no idea of the exact location. Besides, everyone needs a rest…"

"But, but-" Naruto spluttered. "Sakura needs us…."

"Nobody wants to hear your annoying high-pitched squealing; although it's obvious why you sound like a girl. Your dick's so small, it's like it's not even there." Sai looked pointedly at Naruto's pants, infuriating the jinchuuriki even more. "Besides," he said offhandedly, "she's probably dead by now, so who cares?" Sai smiled that horrible fake smile of his; deep down though, he really was slightly worried about Sakura's wellbeing, though he couldn't explain why. It must've been one of those new emotions that he hadn't gotten a chance to figure out yet.

"We'll be moving out in 15 minutes…" Kakashi said offhandedly. "It seems that Sunagakure is sending a squad of shinobi to help us in the search, and we're supposed to meet them along the main road."

At that, Naruto really couldn't sit still. "Whoa, we're getting help to find Sakura-chan?! C'mon then, we should go meet them now, dattebayo!!" He headed off towards the main road nearby, and Kakashi sighed as he closed his book and slowly got up to follow after his student.

**"**_**I**'m sorry Tobi…"_ Those words rang in his ears as Tobi stared in forlorning at the deep crater that had burned its mark in the forest floor, the setting sunlight glinting off his mask.

Suddenly the ground next to him opened up, as the appendage on Zetsu's head rose through the dirt like a new plant blooming in the spring. _"So, Tobi-san, you're alive!.."_ **"I see that ass finally blew himself up. What a waste of a damned good meal."** _"Please, he was so scrawny, and we would've had clay in our teeth. Besides, show some respect for him, and for Tobi's loss.."_

"Zetsu-san," Tobi interrupted, his voice suddenly taking a much deeper and more serious tone, "you can drop the formalities. We are now the only ones here."

Zetsu paused in his argument with himself, turning full attention to Tobi. _"Of course Madara-sama. Then the boy?..." _**"Psh, I knew that he was too worthless to incorporate into the plans."**

"Uchiha Sasuke escaped from the explosion. That is all you need to know for the time being. And do _not_ question the validity of my plans." Tobi glared at Zetsu, his Sharingan shining as the waning sunlight caught on the hole in his mask.

"_Of course Madara-sama. Is there anything that you want us to report back?... Aside from Deidara-san's suicide?.."_

"Yes." Tobi said, turning and walking a few paces away, seemingly in deep thought. "You will report back that we have all been killed, all three of us. Anyone who matters will be able to figure out the truth soon enough. I will speak with Pein on the matter privately. The boy is strong enough now, it's time to put the plans into action."

Zetsu nodded, before retracting into the ground and returning to the Akatsuki base. Tobi meanwhile stood deep in thought. The boy had improved much more than he would have expected under the tutelage of someone like Orochimaru. He hadn't intended for Deidara to lose it and go after the young Uchiha, but it had actually proved beneficial. He had received the perfect opportunity to observe the boy's progress. Obviously his deep hatred of his brother had indeed proved valuable; Itachi would have barely anything to do for things to finally fall into place.

* * *

Well, it's a little different from the manga. I redid the scenes, left out the fight itself(because who wants to cry while reading a fanfic?! ...Dammit Deidara, why?... -wails-), and I tried to make things a little more interesting. Now that this is done, I can start moving on to my own ideas again...but I told you before, I don't want this to seem AU, so needed to incorporate manga happenings into the story somewhere!!

Hope you liked it!! And please review, good or bad!!! Flames are accepted too...


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

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_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 12_

**"Y**ou aren't serious." Pein didn't even give Zetsu the grace of looking at him as his finished his report, staring out onto the drenched city in deep thought and, dare he say it, confusion.

"_Deidara's jutsu was some sort of newly contrived suicide jutsu, it blew up a 10 mile radius."_ **"That dumbass wasn't joking when he said he wanted to go out with a bang. There was nothing left but a crater. No trees, no wildlife, nothing. They didn't have a chance I guess."**

Konan's eyes grew wide as she stifled a gasp. Pein seemed to be in just as much disbelief as she was; he got up quickly, pacing back towards where Konan stood in the doorframe. The skies suddenly opened up, pouring bucketsful of rain immediately bringing a deluge on the village so drenching that Zetsu's clothes hung to him like a lead weight. Thunder sounded ominously in the distance. "Thank you Zetsu-san. You can go. Be forewarned however, I'll be calling a meeting within the hour."

Zetsu nodded, thankful to get out of the heavy rains, and was gone into the ground within seconds.

Konan absentmindedly folded a paper butterfly, as she spoke up, "He was lying. He had to be Pein-san. Madara-sama wouldn't die that easily, explosion or not. After all, he's lived for over a hundred years, and-"

Pein held up his hand to silence Konan. "Yes, Zetsu was obviously lying. But why does Madara-sama want everyone to think that Tobi has been killed? And as for the boy… that's what I'm more concerned with. I don't think he would let the boy die, but it might have been unavoidable. At any rate…" Pein trailed off, going through a quick series of handseals. Konan recognized them immediately, as her ring began to glow white hot on her finger, signifying that 'Leader-sama' was calling a meeting.

**"I **suppose you're all wondering why you've been called here. Obviously Deidara-san and Tobi-san haven't retrieved the Hachibi, as you can see. …There's been a change of plans." Pein's penetrating eyes closed for a moment, as he pushed back his annoyance at the blonde bomber. "Deidara has died."

"**Blew himself up, the idiot."** Zetsu put in.

After a short silence Kisame put in, "…Wow. I mean, I knew he was a little touched, what with the art thing and all," Sasori scoffed almost inaudibly, as Kisame continued, "but still, I never thought he'd do it. He was a pretty strong member too…wonder why he had to go and do that…"

"Ha, fuckin' bitch-ass pansy! About time, seriously. At least we don't have to listen to his bitchy, girly whining anymore."

Sasori just stared blankly in shock, not willing to admit to himself the loss he felt deep inside. He had come to slightly respect Deidara as a partner- and compared to Orochimaru, to even appreciate him, since at least he had a general sense of art; of course he'd never come out and say any of that though, but still, Deidara using his suicide jutsu just like that, it was crazy. The brat had always gone on and on about his 'true art' or whatever it was, but Sasori had never believed he'd really go so far as to blow himself up. Of course, he did do his best to tune his partner out when they started into one of their arguments on art- maybe if he'd had the patience to listen a bit more intently, he could have foreseen his partner's intentions and done something to prevent it, like refusing to let Tobi go with him. Come to think of it, what about Tobi? But before Sasori could voice his slight curiosity about the semi-retarded member, Kisame seemed to read his mind.

"Hey, wait a sec. What about Tobi? I mean, you could never get that kid down, even if you tried to chop him in half or something, so where's he?" Kisame asked, scratching his head, shifting his weight and placing his sword on his other shoulder. "Who attacked them anyway?... It must've taken a helluva lot to drive Deidara to use that jutsu."

Pein looked to Zetsu, whose white side immediately replied, in a strained voice, _"Tobi is dead as well. They ran into that Uchiha brat, and Deidara decided he had to use his specialty when neither one had enough chakra reserves left to keep going." _**"Guess he had his male pride wounded or something stupid like that, so he decided to just blow them all up. Reached 10 miles around, so Tobi and Itachi's brother didn't stand a chance. Better off without those annoyances anyway, I was getting to the point where I was going to eat them, no matter what anyone said."**

A sharp gasp sounded from the floor, as Sakura's hand flew to her mouth, shock taking over her petite form. She fell to her knees, and then back to a seated position, staring at the base of the immense statue in stunned silence. Attention had turned however to Itachi, once Zetsu had mentioned the younger Uchiha was dead. All eyes were on him, save Sakura's, waiting to see how he would react. He just stared indifferently into the silence though, making no move to show that he cared about the boy whom he had so purposefully left alive.

"Um, Itachi-san… you okay?" Kisame asked carefully after a few moments of pointless staring.

Itachi turned slowly to face him, crimson eyes boring into him. "Hn." He replied indifferently. Then, after a beat, "If that is all Leader-sama, we will be going."

Pein waved the Uchiha off. "Yes, that's all. However, now that Deidara and Tobi were unable to complete your failed mission, you will have to take care of things, with no room for mistakes this time. Do I make myself clear?"

Kisame nodded quickly, muttering a low "Hai Leader-sama", Itachi merely inclining his head an inch or so, as he turned and jumped swiftly from the statue, leaving the room without a second glance, Kisame following close behind him, and throwing a pitying and confused look at the dazed kunoichi on the floor as he went.

Zetsu left as well, his astral projection sputtering out. "Sasori-san, I take it things have been going well here. You will continue to watch my daughter until I return, since at the moment, I have matters to attend to. We obviously can't seal any more biju, even with Kisame-san's huge chakra reserves, unless a replacement for at least one of the deceased members is found. If you need anything, do not hesitate to contact either myself or Konan-san. And..see to it that Sakura-san finishes healing Hidan, he will be needed for missions immediately." Pein brusquely ended, closing his eyes and breaking the handseal he had been holding, Konan fading away soon after.

"Yeah, like hell I will fucking bastard!! I'm not gonna get killed like gay-ass and his fuckbuddy, so screw you!!" Hidan yelled after him, his head nearly falling off from the force of his yells. Sasori cringed, trying to tune him out as he jumped gracefully off of the statue, Hidan's voice following him as it reverberated around the huge room. "Dammit, that sucks, seriously! Hey, girly, where the hell are you?"

Sakura didn't even lift her head to meet Sasori's gaze, Hidan's ranting reverberating off her eardrums in a low drone. As Sasori made his way to her side, she finally noticed his presence, pushing herself shakily from the floor with one arm, the other one wrapped protectively around her middle. Plastering a smile onto her face, she refused to let these people see how weak and broken she felt, saying quietly, "Let's go, Sasori-san. Seems there's a lot of work to do, huh?" As she turned, walking quickly from the room, she made sure he couldn't see the single tear that trickled down her cheek, burning with all of the pain she felt deep inside, or the hundreds of others threatening to spill any moment if she dared to let her thoughts drift to her dear Sasuke.

Sasori wasn't stupid, and it was obvious that the brat was in shock. He'd seen plenty of shinobi exhibit the same symptoms- although usually they fell into shock after being poisoned, or impaled, and were just too weak to take the pain being wrought on their system. This was different…she was in shock, yes, but it wasn't from some sort of physical blow. And Sasori had never been the best with understanding emotions, even before stripping himself of his own. They were useless, as her current broken state only served to prove. Such a strong girl, with such potential, and something as insignificant as an emotion was now dragging her down.

Of course, that also meant he had no idea what he was supposed to do, to get her out of this annoying situation. He certainly didn't want to be babysitting a mopy little emotional teenage girl for the next week or so. Yet it wasn't like he'd ever been taught what to do in situations like these. When his parents had died, his grandmother had first lied to him, and then used puppets as a means of escape from reality- but somehow he didn't think anything here was going to interest Sakura quite enough. He'd have to improvise. There was no way he was letting his careful plan go down the drain now- Sasori did not lose. He would find some way to make this work, and maybe even turn it to his advantage.

Walking quickly to catch up to Sakura, he carefully placed an arm around her shoulders. Sakura froze, every muscle tensing; he momentarily had second thoughts, maybe what she needed wasn't comforting, damned female emotions were so pathetically complicated. But then all of the emotion she'd been so carefully holding in threatened to spill over, and she leaned into his side, her body beginning to shake intermittently. It took a few moments for Sasori to realize that Sakura had started to cry.

She hated herself for it, Inner Sakura screaming at her with every shaky breath and choked sob. Here she was weak, again, and showing it in front of her enemies, S-class criminals on top of it.

He wanted to slap the brat- she was going to get his joints wet, and then he'd have to oil them again- but instead he tightened his grip around her shoulders, leading them towards her room.

**B**y the time they arrived, the entire side of his cloak was drenched. He didn't waste any time opening the door to her room, gingerly lifting his arm from her, nudging her through the doorway as he said, "I'm going to get you some water- and tissues, before you cause my chest to warp. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully you'll have yourself better composed and thinking more clearly by then."

**S**asori had every intention of leaving the brat alone until she calmed down, and was actually capable of rational thought again. Her sobs sounded like a whining little dog that had just been beaten senseless, and soon enough her tears really would eat through his carefully applied finish and start to warp the wood. She had a bathroom with a sink and toilet paper in it anyway if she really needed anything. But what crying was doing for her, he just couldn't understand.

He was nearly to his door, to his puppets, when Kisame suddenly turned the corner into the hall, carrying a huge pile of clothes. As soon as he spotted Sasori, he dropped them at the end of the hall and walked towards him, "Hey, so how is she?"

Sasori blinked a few times, before registering who he meant. "The brat? Fine I suppose. Right now she's crying in her room, and I'll check on her once she's done. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm rather busy." Sasori said curtly, moving past Kisame and towards his room.

"Hey wait."

Sasori's hand froze on the doorknob, as he gave an audibly annoyed sigh.

"I've been around Itachi-san a lot," Kisame continued, "and I mean, he doesn't like to talk about his brother, or what happened or anything much, but I mean, it's obvious that Sakura-san was on some team with that annoying blonde jinchuuriki kid Naruto, and with Itachi's little brother, when they were kids. She's probably all worked up about it because he died, and she didn't get to say goodbye or something messed up like that. Girls get like that." Kisame said matter-of-factly.

"I see. Well that's great and all, but I don't see how I'm supposed to care or how it affects me." Sasori stated coldly, opening the door.

"Well, hell, I'm just glad it's not my head then. I mean, Leader-sama's going to be pretty pissed off if he finds out you just ignored her, don't you think? …Besides, how would you feel if you were in her position?..."

Sasori paused, turning around. "I wouldn't, because I don't feel. In case you haven't noticed, I rid myself of those useless emotions. ..And I thought that in Kirigakure you were required to kill your teammates to progress to the next rank; how would you have any opinion on how she supposedly feels right now?"

"Oh, that was different." Kisame grinned, waving him off. "I mean, I got to do the killing, and anyway, didn't she like this kid or something? First her mother dies, then Itachi's little brother, it probably messed her up inside, making her feel like she's helpless. I'll bet if she got to be with them when they died, she wouldn't be such a basket case, but oh well."

Recalling the events of his fight with her, Sasori had to admit, the girl had seemed to have a problem with weakness and helplessness, to the point where she just wouldn't back down. Probably some sort of psychological complex, even if it did bring out her only admirable qualities. "What exactly are you suggesting I do?" Sasori asked in annoyance, his voice dangerously low.

"Just… be there for her, I don't know. When women get all emotional, they need someone there, just to feel support or something. I don't really get it, I just know they do." Kisame turned back towards the clothes pile at the far end of the hall. "Anyway, I've got to get going soon, so I have to get these clothes washed for Itachi-san. I'll see ya." Kisame grabbed the pile of clothes back into his arms and walked off down the hall, leaving Sasori standing in the doorway.

**S**akura had to get out of there that was all she knew, as she glanced around frantically at her surroundings. She had to be with Naruto, with Kakashi-sensei…did they even know about Sasuke? If they didn't, what would they have to say when she told them, when they learned that she'd been living with his killer for the past month, had learned to trust him- had she even started to care about Deidara? Nothing made sense, all she knew was she needed them, and she needed them now. Kakashi-sensei always had such practical advice for every situation, and Naruto...he was just unique; every situation could be turned around once he was there. All she wanted to do was collapse into his arms and cry forever. To be there for him when he needed support.

**S**uddenly the door opened, and Sakura forced down her choked sobs, using the bed's downy comforter to quickly wipe away her tears.

"Have you calmed down yet b- Sakura-san?" Sasori asked, catching himself just before his favorite name for the girl slipped out. Looking at her though, he could she that she hadn't. Her face was a shiny mess of tearstains, and her breath was still hitched and coming out in ragged bursts. Sasori stood there for a moment, unsure of what should be done. Comfort her, just be there for her, that was what Kisame had said, right? Well, he was here, and she was still acting irrationally.

The awkward silence that followed was finally broken by Sakura, voice weak, but surprisingly level, as another wave of tears threatened to spill, saying, "What do you want?"

Oh, how many answers Sasori could give to that simple question. Most of which would probably get him punched through a wall. Thinking quickly though, he replied, "I was concerned about how you're doing. After all, you've suffered quite an emotional shock, and as a medic, I think you know what implications shock can potentially have on the body. Oh, and here's your tissues."

He walked over to the bed, throwing them at the edge, before sitting down at the foot of the bed himself. Sakura glared at the tissue box, before turning her gaze to him. "So what, did you come here to watch me cry, to have a good laugh about it later? I don't need your sarcasm, and I sure as hell don't need your pity!" Sakura kicked the tissue box, and sending it flying and just nearly missing Sasori's face. He glared at her, struggling to restrain himself from poisoning the impertinent woman right then and there.

Right, be there and comfort her. This was certainly the last time he took advice from Kisame; he felt like impaling the Kiri-nin right about now, and slowly stripping off his flesh with a hot iron while he was still alive. Gruffly, Sasori pushed himself up off of the bed and turned to go. "I wasn't offering you my pity." Satisfied when there was no sarcastic reply, he smiled to himself as he walked to the door.

Suddenly though, he heard a strangled sob, followed in quick succession by more, louder sobs. Against his better judgment, Sasori turned back, returning to Sakura's bedside, picking up the discarded tissues as he went and holding them out to her.

Sakura reached out as if to grab the box, then suddenly clung to Sasori's arm, burying her face in the material. He stiffened at her touch, but thinking back to Kisame's words, as well as his own plans for the girl, he forced himself to relax, and sat down beside her, removing her head from his arm and instead pulling her close and letting her bury it in his chest as she continued to sob uncontrollably. As an afterthought, he started to rub her back in a, hopefully comforting, circular motion.

**I**t was quite some time before Sakura was able to talk again. "I don't need tissues…" She sobbed. "Tissues won't bring him back… Nothing will. I failed him, I failed them all. What…what will Naruto say?... Will I fail him too?... Will I have to stand by and do nothing while he dies?!..."

"You're letting your emotions get the better of you again. Don't ever forget what I said to you in that cave Sakura-san. What would you have done if you had been there? Nothing would have changed, only you would be dead as well. Even I couldn't stop something as powerful as what Zetsu-san described." Sasori explained, continuing to rub her back with one hand as the other carefully lifted Sakura's chin to look Sasori in the eyes.

Sakura shook her head. "..I failed them… Everyone. My mother, and Sasuke-kun…even Deidara. And I should hate him! But…. They're all dead, and I wasn't strong enough…."

"No, you aren't. But it has nothing to do with your physical strength from what I can see. You are a very skilled kunoichi, that I cannot deny. Your problem is getting too emotionally attached to others…" Sasori paused for a moment. "But you can't help your situation here, and I suppose in a way, your ardent, unyielding attachments, as stupid as they may seem, are a type of strength. At least you know what you want, and who you care about, and you stick by them. You couldn't have done any better than your commitment to them." Sasori felt nearly sickened by the compliments he was feeding Sakura, but at the same time, deep down, he couldn't deny what he had said, which was what troubled him the most. At any rate though, Sakura had finally started to calm down a bit, her sobs breaking up as she leaned in to Sasori. It took a few minutes for him to realize that she had fallen asleep against his shoulder, her body still shivering with subsiding sobs.

**"U**m, so….Itachi… Uh.." Kisame awkwardly tried to start a conversation, not really sure of what he could even say. "Heh, about your brother, kinda sad, huh, that he died without you getting to fight him?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

After a beat, Itachi's emotionless voice sounded quietly through the rain. "He isn't dead."

"What do you mean he isn't, Zetsu-san, back there, just said-"

"He is not dead. Do not make me repeat myself again." Itachi turned and glared at Kisame, who nodded nervously in reply.

"So, then what's the deal? Damn, I've never seen Zetsu-san be wrong, but your brother must be pretty damn amazing if Tobi and Deidara-san kicked it, and he survived."

"Zetsu-san was obviously lying, but that is no important. Right now, we must find my brother, and deal with matters. He must be convinced one way or another of the truth." Itachi said with a note of finality in his voice.

Kisame could think of a million questions, and a million reasons why none of this made any sense, but knew better than to open his mouth. The rest of the journey was made in silence.

**"I**tachi knows his mission, and he will carry it out, whether he believes me dead or not. Even if he were to deviate from it slightly, things will still work according to plan. Besides, the boy is smart enough to know that I wouldn't be killed by such a petty jutsu. What I worry though is whether he is smart enough to realize that Sasuke survived. But you did say that he spoke with you." Madara's gaze bore into Pein's as his subordinate quickly replied.

"Yes Madara-sama. Just before he left, Itachi contacted me and told me that he knew you and his brother were still alive. He wished to confirm that he should still follow the orders he had been given previously, and I told him to proceed."

"Good. We should have everything settled then within the month." Madara pulled the hood over his cloak, stepping out into the rain as he prepared to leave. "Oh. I will still be acting in the role of an Akatsuki member, most likely no more than scouting though. However, if any of the others see me alive, I expect you to have a legitimate reason prepared for my survival. Also, I will be seeing the Kyuubi jinchuuriki soon, I have things to attend to. Once I have done so, I will contact you, and I expect you and Konan-san to immediately head out for its retrieval."

"Yes Madara-sama. We will retrieve the Kyuubi, and ensure that Uchiha Sasuke manages to come under your supervision one way or another." Pein bowed respectively to the Uchiha and turned to go inside.

"Pein…that won't be necessary. Take care of your end, but Sasuke will be mine, and you don't have to worry about my affairs. Just get me that jinchuuriki. And make sure your daughter is well prepared to see her old friend."

"Of course."

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I actually didn't realize that this chapter is so short until I got it up here. But I guess it's better than nothing. Lovey dovey Sakura and Sasori stuff starts next chapter, and if you still haven't figured out at least part of what Pein and Madara(mostly Madara, that ass) want to do, you'd better start thinking a little harder. As for Sasori...what he's trying is obvious, at least to us readers, lol. Not to poor Sakura though. Anyway, sooo sorry that I didn't update for so long.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: So um, as promised, there is a little bit of SasoSaku action. Two scenes actually, nearly the same, but hey I'm going for realism here, not some overly fluffy, omg pink ponies and butterflies, picture perfect Disney princess scene here. Sakura is depressed. She doesn't have the energy or desire to leave her room right now, and face anyone. But Sasori isn't stupid, he knows that this is when she's at her most vulnerable emotionally, that she's depressed, needy, and just wants to think of anything but Sasuke, even though at the same time he's all she wants to think about so she doesn't forget him. Now, sorry that that made almost no sense. It's just that it's hard to explain what goes through people's minds when someone they know dies. If you've gone through that, especially if it was a friend or lover, etc., you know what I mean. So, anyway, I thought of having just one scene, and ending the part about them right there for this chapter. But as I was writing, I realized, that after Sakura sat and stewed over it all for a good few hours, that one of two things could happen. She could either, in her depressed and not quite sensible state, look for the attention and comfort that Sasori was offering, or she could attempt to kill him. But...I wanted another lovey dovey scene, to get things moving, and it does work, when you consider that Sasori has motives behind this, he hasn't fallen in love or anything. Oh true, somehow Sakura and her attitude are sparking emotions in him he hasn't felt in years, but we've seen that throughout so far, as they slowly increase...he's already show jealousy and some sick cross between love and lust for her in prior chapters. It's just it's really starting to bother him now- not that this far in he's going to let that overtake him so he has to give up his revenge, lol.

I'm just trying to cover any questions you might have... I know that once one of you asked I make my author's note shorter, but for this chapter, it had to go kind of long again. Anyway...um, I only got 4 reviews and 137 views for Chapter 12. I'm kind of worried that because I waited too long to update, that people are no longer reading my story. I'm writing this for my readers... but now I wonder if I really have any left, except for like 4 people.

Look, if there's something you don't like in a chapter, tell me. I'll edit it and resubmit! I just don't want you all to stop reading, because I need to know that I'm doing this for a reason, and that people are pleased. So please...review and let me know how it is. I accept flames... Really, even if the comment is horribly scathing, that's fine, at least then I know how the chapter was received. So..please review!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 13_

**S**akura groggily shifted in her bed, cuddling up against the comforting warmth all around her. As she slowly awoke, and sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes, her blanket shifted down to her waist, and she realized in disappointment that that was all the warmth had been. Then she quickly threw off the covers and jumped out the bed, disgusted with herself. It wasn't like she even remembered how she got there, all nice and tucked under the covers in the first place, but what had she been expecting? Her thoughts were starting to scare her.

Of course Inner Sakura was no help, but even she couldn't stop Sakura's thoughts from almost immediately returning to Sasuke and her mother, as she did her best to get dressed without breaking down. The realization that she hadn't been wearing a nightgown to her recollection when she had fallen asleep- as well as the fact that she didn't have a nightgown here with the clothing she'd been given- completely escaped her notice as she thought about Sasuke's last minutes and what they must have been like.

She didn't have as much time to dwell on things as she would have liked though, because she was interrupted by the door opening and Sasori coming in carrying a plate of food.

"I'm not hungry." She immediately remarked, turning away from him towards her night table, trying to busy herself with rearranging a few scrolls left there.

"Well not that I would usually care if a poor simpleton such as yourself decided to starve yourself to death needlessly, but in case you haven't noticed, you're my charge. Now eat. I can't have you winding up dead." He walked over and grasped her by the shoulders, smiling as she visibly tensed at his touch, before reaching around her and placing the plate carefully on the night stand. "I do so hate to see you this way Sakura, such a waste."

"Shut up. What does a puppet know?... You can't feel anything, you even tried to kill your own grandmother. How could you ever understand?!" Sakura broke free of his grasp, shoving the plate off of the night table, watching ceramic shatter across the floor, in a jumble of eggs and rice.

"I understand enough. I understand that you've given everything to someone who didn't love you, and couldn't possibly have appreciated you. Yet you seem to be a sensible enough girl. I understand that you were willing to throw your life away for that Uchiha, and yet in return all you received was indifference. It's obvious to see Sakura. Here, I thought you were deserving of some respect, but I supposed your performance during our battle was a rare event." Sasori bent down and picked up a piece of discarded egg absently, looking at it for a moment before going to throw it in the waste basket in the bathroom.

"You- you're wrong! Sasuke-kun cared for all of us, he just… we just weren't strong enough, he had to find another way to get his revenge. He was going to come back, once he killed Itachi…but now he never will… Everyone I care about is dying… Sasuke didn't deserve this, and he did care, just in his own way. You can't understand, you didn't go through what he did. He needed someone there for him, it wasn't a waste." Sakura shook her head sadly.

But she couldn't help it as her mind drifted to their last meeting with Sasuke, where he had threatened to kill Naruto, and would have killed them all without a second thought if not for Orochimaru arriving, and he, of all people, telling Sasuke to stop, and that they needed to go. Sakura shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Sasuke had to care, regardless of what had happened, Sasori was just trying to make her feel worse, that had to be it. And she was such a mess, she couldn't help but listen.

"Did you enjoy your sleep?" Sasori's voice broke her from her thoughts, as he suddenly returned to her side.

Sakura turned to him angrily. "What do you think?! Why are you doing this?.." She paused, then looked at the bed, realization dawning on her face. "You sick bastard! You undressed me?!" She yelled balling her fists.

"I certainly couldn't leave you to freeze in those unsightly garments you consider clothes." Sasori replied calmly. "You just need to learn some manners, so maybe next time you won't fall asleep on someone's shoulder."

He reached out and clasped her chin in one hand, turning it up so that Sakura was forced to stare into his eyes, while his free hand grabbed her one of her fists, loosening it and lacing through her fingers, the cold wood shocking her and making her shudder. "I couldn't have my little cherry blossom catching a chill after all, now could I?" He whispered, leaning in so that his breath brushed against her ear.

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat, as the witty comment she'd had suddenly flew from her mind. She just stood frozen to the spot, transfixed on his glassy eyes, with Inner Sakura yelling something in the background. She faintly wondered how a puppet could even have breath to tickle at her ear so sensually, but that wasn't important right now. "I- I guess not…" she managed to breath out airily.

"You see Sakura, unlike that little brat, I do actually see your worth and potential, I do actually care what happens to you." Sasori said quietly, his hand moving from her chin to rest in her hair, running it through his fingers slowly, his other hand dropping from hers to encircle her waist. "You don't deserve to waste your life running after someone who will never care, now do you?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, trying to back up as she felt a little more than uncomfortable now, and so light-headed that she was afraid she would tip over. She immediately thought to blame her lack of breakfast, or dinner the night before, and cursed herself. She knew she couldn't afford to be weak around these people, and so throwing the plate to the floor had been a stupid move.

She was about to turn around to start cleaning up the food when suddenly Sasori, feeling her move, pulled her closer. Before Sakura's racing mind could even fully register what had happened, Sasori had sent his lips carefully crashing into hers. He turned her head slightly, obscuring her view of most of his face, so that Sakura wouldn't see the triumphant glint in his eyes.

It took Sakura a full ten seconds to come to her senses, and manage to believe that this was actually happening. She didn't want to admit it, but it actually felt good- her entire body felt like butterflies coursing through it, and her face felt flushed, even though his lips were so cold. Quickly turning her head out of the way of Sasori's, she brought her hands up and roughly pushed him away, stumbling as his grip on her waist loosened. She hadn't realized that she'd been leaning into his arms so much for support, and was lucky to catch herself before falling flat onto her backside. "What the hell was that!?" She choked out.

"Merely a little reminder Sakura. Nothing more. So don't read too much into, as I know women are always wont to do." Sasori said brusquely, turning and walking towards the door before Sakura could retaliate. "Just remember, you don't have to feel alone in your time of need. There are people who care about you, who are willing to share your devotion, unlike that Uchiha brat. The world doesn't always have to be so one-sided Sakura. You're worth more than that." And with that, he was gone.

Sakura perched carefully on the edge of her bed, grabbing a piece of the comforter and wringing it through her hands. She had no idea how to even begin to explain what had just happened. Obviously, all these Akatsuki members were just sex-deprived, and so desperate they were willing to take anything they could get, even a 15 year old girl who was their boss's daughter. Yet how Sakura had gone from screaming at Sasori to being trapped in a kiss with him was beyond her.

But what bothered her most was just how much she had enjoyed it, how everything he had told her seemed so right, even if she didn't want to believe it. And how, if she hadn't stopped that kiss when she did, she knew that she wouldn't have let herself stop. It frightened her to think that she actually enjoyed being forced into something like that, that if he had deepened the kiss, she wouldn't have stopped him by that point. And her first kiss was supposed to be saved for Sasuke! But first Deidara, now Sasori….

She laid back, nearly on the verge of tears again. But they didn't come, as she thought about Sasori's words, and realized that maybe, just maybe, all that waiting and caring had been for nothing, even if he hadn't wound up dead. Even if Sasuke had returned to Konoha with all kinds of fanfare, would he ever have really loved her? Was it right to love someone who shows you no ounce of respect? To love someone who had never uttered a simple 'I love you'?

Sakura spent the next hour just blankly staring at the ceiling.

**S**asori meanwhile was sitting at his desk, a puppet lying before him, as he tried to concentrate on his art, adding weapons to the puppet's arm and mouth. He'd had every intention of baiting the girl, then returning to his art while she mulled over the truth behind what he'd said. However, things hadn't gone exactly according to plan.

Oh, the girl he was sure was fine, she'd get over it and if things went his way, would even come to accept it all. He could see in her wide, deep emerald eyes as she backed away that she was angry, yes, but that she hadn't been left completely unaffected by this turn of events. The problem was much deeper than that.

Having planned for things to fall into place for some time, Sasori had been quite prepared for everything that was going to occur, and had just been waiting for the right moment to move. Yet, despite his being a puppet, he had distinctly felt…something…not as that pathetically fragile and emotional girl looked up at him, giving in to his ministrations as one would think, but when she pushed away as he watched all of her energy and spirit suddenly return to her. He didn't know what it was about the brat that could do this to him, but he had to admit that it had now occurred more than once, which seemed an impossibility. Things would have to be taken care of quickly, before she had some sort of permanent affect on him. Sasori tried to turn back to his work, but his thoughts kept returning to the little brat, and how she could dare to have such power over his thoughts, without even realizing it. He snapped out of it when a loud shattering was heard- he'd pushed the poison canister in too far, leaving the upper half of the arm splintered, and the shoulder joint destroyed. He set down his tools, getting up to go and find a spare shoulder joint, thinking about the girl and the obvious effect she was having on him. And before he knew it, nearly half an hour had gone by without him having done any work.

**"I** want you to go back to the base, and see to it that the girl is suitable for Madara-sama's plans."

"Pein.." Konan began unsurely, stepping out from the overhang into the drenching rain to better hear him.

"Konan, I will handle the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and his friends myself, just as I handled Jiraiya-sensei. What is more important right now is to begin to set Madara-sama's plans in motion. The Kyuubi will have to wait anyway; we can't seal it with two members dead, since as you know one was difficult enough." He waved her off. "You're a woman, you should be able to determine if Sakura can be of any use to us, and when. Get close to her, make her trust you beyond all else. Now go."

Konan paused unsurely for a moment, until Pein began to turn his head towards her. "Of course, Pein-san. I'll head over there right away, and see to things. I am your messenger after all." She turned on her heel and quickly walked back inside.

**"S**asuke-san, are you sure you're able to walk?... Because if not, we can stay here longer and I can take care of you!..."

"Karin."

"Yes Sasuke-san?..." Karin replied sweetly, clinging to Sasuke's discarded ripped and bloodied clothes possessively.

"Move." Sasuke pushed himself off of the mat he'd been recovering on, shoving past Karin towards the door.

Karin struggled not to trip over the piles of clothes hanging from her arms as he passed by her. "But, you really do need to recover-"

"Have Suigetsu and Juugo finished their information gathering mission yet?" He interrupted her.

"Yes, yes they just got back, and they think that they found out the locations of maybe three bases from the people they talked to, but heh, knowing Suigetsu that ass, it's probably all bad information." Karin replied brightly, trailing after Sasuke.

"Good. Then we're moving out. Have them mark all of the locations they may have discovered on our map, and all of you meet me at the gates in 20 minutes." Sasuke walked out the door without another word, Karin nodding vehemently behind him as she clung even more tightly to his clothes in worry. He really shouldn't be up and about yet.

**"S**o, so wait a second. Let me get this straight. Your brother isn't dead, and somehow you knew… I'm not even going to try to understand that, but anyway…. So little Sasuke-kun is alive and well, and on his way to meet you?" Kisame laughed in disbelief.

"Presumably." Itachi stared into the small campfire absently, trying to focus his vision on the food cooking in front of them. All he could see however was a bright light and fuzzy black dots, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in disdain. "All you must know is that I need to confront Sasuke alone. You will need to hold back his companions."

"Fine, fine. You know I always love a good confrontation Itachi-san, don't worry. But..why do you have to fight your brother? I mean, can't it wait at least, until after we've completed our mission for Leader-sama?" Kisame leaned back against a tree, taking a long swig of sake.

"No. It cannot wait. This is part of our mission, mine at the very least. Sasuke must be returned to the Akatsuki at all costs, I must see to it." Itachi paused, glaring harder into the fire. "If I am killed, you need to make certain that nobody disturbs the battleground. My brother will be taken care of in that event, and there can be no outside interference."

"Heh, alright, but it's not like that little kid is any match for you." Kisame chortled, taking another drink of sake. When he glanced at Itachi though, his laughter stopped. "Right? I mean, you're not going to let him kill you?..."

It was a while before Itachi replied, his tone grave. "I will do whatever needs to be done Kisame-san, to ensure both my brother's safety and Madara-sama's approval for the time being."

"Madara-sama? Who the heck is that?" Kisame put down his sake bottle, moving to sit closer to the fire.

"It's not your concern. Just do as you've been told and everything will be fine. If you need to aid my brother in the future, he can inform you of the details." Itachi took the sake bottle, taking a long drink of his own. Kisame just sat and stared in silence. Something serious must be up if Itachi was drinking like that.

**T**he next day dawned bright and early, though you wouldn't know it from the pitch darkness of the cave complex Sasuke and Team Hebi were trying to navigate. The only light resonated from Sasuke's Sharingan, and his team did their best to follow along after his chakra signature. Suddenly he paused, seeing the hallway before them came to an abrupt end, with thee corridors leading off from it on the sides.

"Ow, watch it!"

"I would, only you take up so much space there was no where else to go but into you."

"Karin, Suigetsu, stop it, now." Sasuke said, turning slightly to glare at them. "We're going to split up. Juugo and Karin, you take the hall on the far left. Suigetsu, you'll take the middle. We'll meet back here in 20 minutes." Sasuke sauntered off down the hallway leading the farthest to the right, leaving Karin and Suigetsu staring after him for a moment before Team Hebi headed off in their assigned directions, nearly blind in the dark cavern.

**I**t wasn't long before Sasuke felt a faint but distinct chakra signature from up ahead. Speeding his pace, he yelled out, "Who's there?! Show yourself!!" as the hallway suddenly opened onto a large room.

"Otouto. I see you are still weak, and have not done as I said." An eerie red glow could be seen from the other end of the room as Itachi's eyes fluttered open. "I expressly told you not to come before me again until you had the same eyes as I have."

"Screw you, you bastard! I found a better way than just following whatever you said!" Sasuke yelled back, his rage boiling over. "And now I'm finally going to kill you!" Sasuke didn't waste any time in charging a strong Chidori through his hand, the chirping sound echoing through the room with a deafening roar as the electrical current began to surround his entire body. He ran straight for Itachi, who stood there like a statue, staring into Sasuke's eyes.

As Sasuke finally reached his brother, he braced for impact with his chest, smirking at the fatal injury Itachi was about to sustain because he just refused to move. But instead, Sasuke's hand went right through Itachi, as he stumbled to stop and retain his balance behind Itachi's back. As he turned back towards his brother, he saw Itachi's body break into a flurry of crows.

_'A shadow clone! Dammit, then where is he?'_ Sasuke looked around him frantically for a potential place that his brother could be hiding.

But only moments later, an ethereal voice came from the crows flying all over the room. "I see you've improved, Sasuke. Come and meet me at the old family temple, if you truly believe yourself ready to kill me. There are some things that need to be said, and I believe it is time we finish this. I will be waiting." The crows disappeared, as Sasuke turned heel and ran back down the hallway the way he had come.

_"H_ere's your lunch." Sasori said gruffly, placing the plastic plate onto Sakura's dresser.

**_'Oh, no shannaro! Now we've made him angry…. Though he is a lot hotter when he's angry, but still! We have to figure out what we did wrong.'_** Inner Sakura gasped.**_ 'What if we're a bad kisser!!'_**

"Shut up." Sakura replied. Sasori paused and looked at her. "Oh..I…n-not you. I was um, just talking to myself." Sakura finished lamely, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she tried to hide her tear-stained face. She must sound like she belonged in a nut house, talking to herself.

"I see…" Sasori said, giving her a strange look. "You know Sakura-san, talking to yourself isn't healthy." He said, walking closer. "Just look at Zetsu-san."

"I'd rather not," Sakura replied with contempt, trying not to picture the plant/man, cannibal….thing that terrified her so much.

Sasori smiled at Sakura's facial expression. "I take it you've managed to clear most of your thoughts then? Finally out of your depressed stupor?"

"I wasn't… Like I said, you wouldn't understand. And what the hell was that that happened earli-"

"You know, Sakura-san, I thought about your sad state all morning, hoping you would come to your senses. I couldn't even concentrate on my art."

Sakura averted her gaze, finally managing to mutter an "I'm sorry."

"Oh now Sakura, Sakura. You have no need to be sorry." Sasori shook his head for emphasis, as suddenly Sakura found herself moving towards Sasori. He'd attached chakra strings to her arms and legs. She quickly started to struggle, but Sasori closed the gap between them in seconds, pulling Sakura into his arms. "You know, the only one who deserves to be sorry is that brat, for not appreciating your worth. But I suppose he got what was coming.." Sasori whispered as he hugged her close.

Sakura was torn. When he mentioned Sasuke, all she wanted to do was push him away and scream at him for daring to talk about her dead friend that way. But at the same time, his voice was so soft and reassuring, what he had said earlier seemed so obviously true, that it was all she could do to keep from melting into his arms.

As he felt her body relax, Sasori released the chakra strings, caressing her back, leaning her head against his shoulder. "As I said before Sakura, you shouldn't subject yourself to those who can't appreciate you, especially when there are those who do. You're worth more than that."

"Thank you…" Sakura said unsurely as she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him somewhat uncertainly.

Sasori smiled, doing his best to make it appear completely genuine. But as she looked up at him, it was her who began to inch closer, slowly, as if afraid.

Sasori didn't waste a moment before he closed the gap, relishing in satisfying the lust he shouldn't even have. Sakura was more than a little shocked when his cold lips crushed against hers, for the second time in one day, but this time, she didn't pull away. She didn't really believe that Sasori cared about her as much as he said, but right now, she just didn't want to think about Sasuke, or how she should be kissing him not the puppet, but now never would. Not to mention that her mind was screaming for a distraction form the fact that even had Sasuke been there right then, he would have only ignored her, calling her weak. Sakura couldn't help but it admit it, just like she couldn't help but admit that even though this was so wrong, it somehow felt so right.

It was nothing like Deidara's kiss, that much was certain; there was real feeling behind Sasori's, even if he wasn't supposed to be able to feel. But she and Chiyo had after all cracked his arrogant façade back in the cave, even if only for a brief moment.

And when Sasori suddenly moved to deepen the kiss, Sakura didn't deny him, instead opening her mouth a little to allow him entrance. She'd definitely never been kissed like this before, but she found that she didn't have to worry so much, as Sasori did all the work, his tongue intertwining expertly with hers. She just let him do his thing, too inexperienced to know what she was supposed to be doing. _'I'll bet Ino would know…'_ she thought unhappily. She settled for just wrapping her arm around the back of his head, like she'd seen other people do, and just tried to calm down and enjoy it, even if she was sure that it was wrong in a million different ways.

Finally she had to pull away, or she would pass out from lack of oxygen or something. Not that that was something he had to worry about. But like hell she was going to pass out, especially over something so embarrassing.

Sasori smiled; hook, line, and sinker. He could see in the girl's eyes just how needy she was. He backed away, his arms dropping from around her back and waist. "My offer still stands from our first meeting Sakura. Not as a hitokugutsu of course, you're far too special for that. But after some consideration, I've realized you could do me the highest honor by being the centerpiece of my collection, the only person alive worthy of being my living puppet." Sasori paused in the doorway to look at her.

"What…?!" Sakura said as the full brevity of his comment dawned on her.

"Think about it. It involves no effort on your part aside from commitment. You wouldn't want to disappoint me, now would you? It can be so difficult for an artist to find inspiration such as yours."

The only response was Sakura throwing her desk lamp at the door as Sasori closed it. "This better not become a habit…. I mean, what the hell am I doing?! I swear, I have to hide under the bed or something the next time he tries to come in to feed me!..." Sakura sat on the floor, wringing her hands through her hair in anxiety. She couldn't deny that she'd enjoyed Sasori being there, now that he wasn't in sadistic kill and strip your flesh mode. Who knew an evil puppet could give her everything she'd been hoping for, for years? Of course, that still didn't make it okay, and there was no way she could let him make her forget Sasuke.

* * *

So, that's it. I wasn't sure how many liberties to take, so I kept it simple. I hope you don't hate it, but if you do, review, let me know, and it will be changed. It can't be thaaaat bad though, even if I can't really write romance, lol. I just wonder what Pein will do when he finally finds out.

One last thing...I have a question for you peeps. How far _should_ I take this romance? I can write a lemon..or lime...lol funny fruity names... if needed, but, should I? I mean, there might be little 12 year olds on here reading it, but at the same time, other people might want to see that sort of relationship. I personally don't believe in pre-marital relations, but this is a fan-fic, not real life, and it would add to the plot in various ways. So, I don't know. I know it'll really help the plot, but I'm kind of hesitant. You people are the ones who read the story, you tell me. Even if I did include a lemon or whatever, it wouldn't happen for at least 3 more chapters, so keep that in mind too. But yeah, I'm bad at decision making, so you tell me. :) PLEASE REVIEW!!


	14. Chapter 14

Damn, I put up a chapter and it gets deleted!! Well, whatev, here it is again...

Okay, I know this is wrong. I gave you a filler chapter. But...I was soooo pissed off when Kisame and Suigetsu's fight wasn't shown at all in the manga!! So, there's a little bit here- I didn't write a full blown fight, after all the story isn't about them- but there's enough to satisfy those who think Kishimoto is a dipshit for only focusing on his beloved Sasuke for like..ever. And I had to add in Itachi and Sasuke's fight, because, well, there's a lot implied there. After all, he gives Sasuke his eyes even though Sasuke is too dumb to realize it, or to realize why...I mean, believing Madara, after everything Itachi told him(see the manga, chapters 393 and on) was soo dumb! But anyway, here he was giving him his eyes to prepare him for what needs to be done, as well as placating Madara just in case he was watching or whatev...because Madara wanted this fight, to ensure that Sasuke is finally at a level that's worthy of his plans for him and for everyone. :) All this stuff didn't leave much room at all for SasoSaku action, and besides that, Konan has to gum up the works for them, lol. So I apologize. But hey, in real life, love doesn't always go as planned... there are plenty of roadblocks to overcome.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 14_

**"W**ait, stop!" Karin's shrill voice called out.

"What now, staring at Sasuke's ass like you've been for the past 3 hours got to be too much for you?"

"No! Dammit, how dare you?! I wasn't…" Karin suddenly looked away distracted, and Sasuke followed her gaze, feeling something as well. "There's just a really huge chakra signature or something up ahead, and it feels really weird."

Sasuke ignored her, pressing on even though he couldn't deny that he had felt it too. But there were more important things to worry about right now, like reaching his brother, and that was definitely not his brother's chakra signature.

**"H**ey, Sasuke-kun. How've you been?" A familiar voice broke out just as he stepped into the clearing before the temple. "Long time no see. Your brother has been waiting for you." Itachi's partner smiled, pointing listlessly behind him with a thumb.

Sasuke didn't even spare Kisame a second glance as he ran on past him in a blur, his team struggling to catch up.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Sorry, but Itachi-san expressly said, only Sasuke-kun. You guys will have to wait here." Kisame had gotten up from the upturned log he had been sitting on, and was before Team Hebi in seconds, blocking their path with his immense sword.

"Oh my gosh, but what if he gets hurt?..." Karin mumbled to herself, her face growing pale. Juugo went and sat by the treeline, calmly settling a sparrow on his finger, remembering that Sasuke had said that when it came time to fight his brother, he wanted no interference from anyone. Karin was obsessed though, so he wasn't surprised that she didn't seem to recall.

Suigetsu on the other hand just plain didn't care. His wide toothy smile slowly crept across his face, as he rested his sword across his shoulder, and walked up to Kisame. "Hoshigaki Kisame, and his great sword Samehada…" He said airily, before looking Kisame in the eyes and smiling even wider. "Hey, Kisame-san, do you remember me?"

Kisame cocked his head, staring at him for a moment. "Did I kill your dog or something? Look, I don't have the time to remember little punks like you…" As he took Suigetsu in, he suddenly noticed Zabuza's sword. "Hey, where the hell did you get that?"

Suigetsu laughed. "I can't believe you forgot me, Kisame-senpai! I'm Houzuki Mangetsu's little brother, Suigetsu."

"No way… Damn, I never would've recognized you! You've really grown." Kisame shook his head, smiling.

"Heh, yeah. Hey, since we've gotta wait here for Sasuke anyway, you wouldn't mind having a little fun, would you?" Suigetsu smirked, lifting the sword from his shoulder and holding it along the ground before him.

"I see you've still got that mischievous streak and that attitude of yours. Why not? I'd love to shave a few layers off of you, and I don't think Samehada would mind either." Kisame lifted his sword up as Suigetsu suddenly lunged the remaining distance between them, nearly managing to chop an ear off before Kisame could react.

Kisame laughed. "Heh. Well kid, I didn't think this was going to be any kind of a challenge, but I'm glad to see that you're almost as good as your brother now." Kisame jumped back a few feet while simultaneously swinging his sword out to try to land a hit on Suigetsu's legs, simultaneously going through handseals with his free hand, creating a fairly large body of water around the two. Suigetsu jumped up quickly to dodge the blow, then suddenly liquefied as the water threatened to drag him away.

Karin screamed as the water nearly dragged her under, barely managing to get away before the huge wave overtook the area.

Kisame easily made his way to the water's surface, Suigetsu slowly rematerializing moments later, making his arms larger to put more force behind his blows.

"I don't remember you knowing how to do that Suigetsu-kun. I guess you really are as good as your brother now, huh?" Kisame ripped at the cloth covering Samehada, leaving almost a quarter of the huge sword bare.

"No, please, I'm tons better than Mangetsu, Kisame-senpai."

"Doesn't mean you have a chance anyway kid, but this should be fun…I haven't had a good fight in months." Kisame grinned, running at Suigetsu.

Suigetsu pumped more water into his arms, bracing to block Kisame's attack as his sword contacted with Kisame's. Kisame growled in frustration at having his attack blocked, but put all of his weight behind Samehada. Finally Suigetsu stumbled back under the weight, and Kisame broke through his block, Suigetsu's weight falling to the right as the heavy sword hit the water and pulled on his arms. Kisame took this moment, when Suigetsu's strength faltered, to quickly swing Samehada back around his head and come in for a blow at Suigetsu's neck, hitting him squarely on the left side.

Kisame smiled, "See kid, I told you-"

Suddenly, Kisame's sword went right through Suigetsu's entire neck, and Suigetsu reemerged on the other side of the sword, completely unscathed. "Sorry Kisame-senpai, but you'll have to do better than that."

**"S**o… you see me dead?.. Why don't we see just how good your eyesight has become?"

"Gladly. But before I kill you, there's something I want to know you bastard." Sasuke drove the katana deeper into Itachi's torso, causing him to make a strained gurgling sound. "Who is the third Uchiha survivor? Because when I'm done with you, I'm going to kill him! Answer me, unless you want to know what real pain is!!"

Itachi chuckled lightly. "You, kill him? That's rather doubtful Sasuke. But I see you've finally figured things out. I'm surprised you don't want to know about your little friend. Surely you know that we have her."

"That's not important to me right now! Just tell me who helped you to kill the Uchiha clan!"

"Uchiha Madara. The first Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. My teacher…and the clan's founder." Itachi said evenly, his lips tugging up at the ends.

Sasuke nearly dropped his grip from his katana, leaning against the back of the stone seat Itachi was reclining in. He thought back to the Kyuubi's words, trying to piece everything he had learned together. "The founder… Then he'd be long dead!.. You're lying to me! Stop screwing around you asshole!"

"Madara is very much alive Sasuke, as I'm sure you will see. However, people decide how to live their lives and what to believe based on their own concepts of reality. Who's to decide if these are true or merely their own constructs? It may be better for you this way….."

"My eyes are wide open Itachi, and I can see what's real just fine!" Sasuke screamed, turning around and sending a charge of lightning at his brother, seated in back of him and completely unharmed.

"That may be so Sasuke, but I can't help but notice that you still don't have the same eyes as me." Itachi chided, getting up from his seat.

"Fine then why don't you try to kill me now, and see just how much I need those eyes? Or am I too much of a challenge for you?!"

"Confident, aren't you Sasuke?" Itachi glared at him calculatingly. "However, there is something you must come to understand… The Mangekyou Sharingan has a…unique characteristic, which quickens with more usage. The kaleidoscope eventually loses its light."

"Blindness? That's the price you pay for the power to control the Kyuubi?!" Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

"So you did as I said. You read the family scrolls. I'm pleasantly surprised Sasuke." Itachi smirked, unbuttoning his cloak so his left arm hung freely out of the wide neckline.

"Why? Why pay such a price for power? Who is Madara, and why did you do it?!"

"As I said Sasuke, Madara is my teacher… as well as the only person to unlock and possess the full power of the Sharingan. He is an invincible immortal, and although he is today only a pathetic shell of his former self, the only one capable of surpassing him is me. See that you keep that in mind, in your petty plans to kill him. There's more to it all than controlling the Kyuubi. A permanent Sharingan, a wholly new doujutsu..perhaps even more. And all that's needed he found, to rekindle the light, are the eyes of one's sibling. For generations Uchiha have killed their siblings to try to obtain this power. You Sasuke, are my spare!" Itachi had never thought himself the best actor, but apparently many people had believed his story about his emotionless killing spree to test his capacity; so although it pained him to have to stoop to such manic rage, he knew there was no other choice in order to get his brother going and convey the information needed without giving too much away.

Sasuke recoiled as his brother explained his intentions, and the statue behind him suddenly began to move, reached out with long tendriled hands for his eyes. Shutting his eyes quickly, he jumped back a few feet, tearing off his cloak and the bandages around his head and forearms. When he reopened them, the statue was back in place, Itachi standing a few feet from where the genjutsu had placed him. "Screw you. You're going to die, and once you do I'm going to kill Madara and take Sakura back from you sick bastards."

**W**hen Sakura woke up, her usual breakfast was nowhere to be found. As she looked around, she started, pulling the covers closer around her instinctively.

Sitting at the end of her bed was that blue-haired woman who seemed to be attached to her father like a third arm, though Sakura for the life of her couldn't remember the woman's name. She eyed the woman suspiciously, and the woman just stared back just as harshly.

"I hope you've slept well, Sakura-san. I apologize for not having made better acquaintances with you before, but well, I had duties and all." Konan smiled, patting the bed. "But hopefully we can be better friends now. After all, it must be hard for you here, stuck with all these ugly old men. I'd been telling Pein-sama that it's hard to go without someone to have some good old girltalk with." She laughed lightly, rearranging the flower in her hair absentmindedly.

"What happened to Sasori?" Sakura broke in bluntly, ignoring everything that Konan had just said.

"Well… isn't it better to have me here? We can go shopping, talk about guys, do each others' hair… Really, I thought you hate Sasori-san anyway?..." Konan's smile suddenly got much smaller, and the blue-haired kunoichi couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of honorific placed on Sasori's name. But if Sakura had been trying to show her contempt and lack of respect for him, then why bother even asking about him? Why not just be grateful? There was something she was definitely missing here, and she didn't like it.

Sakura paused, unsure of what she should say. She wasn't even sure herself of why she'd blurted that out. Why did she care where he was? She shouldn't care if someone went and lit him on fire and used him for kindling.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she finally replied, "I don't really care. And I don't like him, though I guess I don't hate him anymore either. But I was just wondering… I mean, I was the mission he was assigned after all, right?"

"Well, yes. But since Deidara-san is, ahem, well... gone," Konan looked at Sakura for a moment, but Sakura refused to allow her mind to drift back to Sasuke and his fight with Deidara, "someone had to fill his spot. It isn't safe to let the daughter of the Leader of such a renowned organization be supervised by only one shinobi. Sasori-san is still here; I gave him a few days off, so that we could get to know each other better."

Konan's smile returned, as she patted the bed, then stood up. "I'll give you a few minutes to get dressed, and then we'll go and do something fun, how about that? You choice. And we can have a nice little chat while we're at it too; I haven't had any girls to talk to in forever, it's been horrible."

**K**onan left Sakura more confused than when she'd woken up. There was something about the woman she didn't really like too, but Sakura chided herself for being too stereotypical. After all, here she was trying to reach out to her in a place where she was all alone.. "But I'm not all alone…" She whispered to herself. "I don't need that…damn, I forgot to ask her her name!! …Well, I don't need her…. I'd rather be alone than friends with her anyway; but I have Sasori. He.. I don't know how, I mean, he's a damned sadistic bastard, a lifeless puppet, but he understands everything I'm going through. What's Ms. Blue here going to do for me, she hasn't even been around…"

Sakura shook her head, half out of disgust, half confusion at everything, but did as she was asked and got up to get dressed, searching the closet until she found a short, stylized pink and black party kimono among the clothes that had been provided for her.

She was just about to walk out the door when her eyes fell on the Akatsuki cloak, and her mind was brought back to Deidara's words. Grudgingly, she slipped the cloak off the chair and around her shoulders, knowing that if she was going anywhere outside of this building, she would have to wear it, especially around her father's little mistress.

**"Y**es, I heard what you said quite clearly when you came in this morning Konan-san. However I thought you said that you were taking Deidara's place; so, why can't I come on your little excursion? Please, explain." Sasori leaned against the wall glaring at Konan, arms folded across his chest.

"Look, I was asked to spend time with the girl, time that you can't provide. You're not a woman, and you're an emotionless shell to boot- Leader-sama wants to make sure his daughter forms bonds here, and is happy, since now this is the only place she has to call home. That's all. Call it a girl's night out if you will." Konan replied smugly.

"Fine. Whatever. Go do your thing. However I expect that when you return, Sakura will be my charge again? I don't want Leader-sama to accuse me of shirking my duties, and I wouldn't put it past you to make it look that way."

"Sasori-san, I'm offended!.." Konan said in mock distress, putting a pout on her face. She turned away from him and plopped herself onto one of the chairs. "And we'll see about later, Sakura-san and I might just be having too much fun bonding you know to allow for any male interference."

**S**asori pushed off the wall and walked out the door, nearly knocking Sakura over as he slammed it open.

She got up immediately, fixing her eyes on the intricate stitching of white material around the red clouds on his cloak. Sasori quickly closed the door behind him before stepping a few feet away.

"Sakura." His voice was much softer than during his talk with Konan. She glanced up at the sound of her name, a blush immediately painting her cheeks a deep magenta and putting her hair to shame.

Sasori looked at her for a moment, and Sakura could swear she saw concern in those deep, unfeeling glass eyes, before he quickly turned away to proceed down the hall. "Have fun Sakura, doing whatever it is you young ladies are planning on doing with this 'bonding' time." Instead of the usual even tone, the hints of sadness in his voice were undeniable.

"Wait!" She said unsurely as he began to walk away, her voice hardly above a whisper. Sasori turned around meeting Sakura's gaze as she stared into his deep glassy eyes quietly, as he slowly began closing the difference between himself and Sakura.

He was just about to reach out and wrap his hand around her waist, when suddenly as Konan chose to open the door.

She took in the scene quickly, before taking Sakura's arm in her grasp. Sasori quickly took a step back, his expression turning to one of indifference.

"Well, you finally showed up. And don't you look pretty! Well, let's go then Sakura-san! You're going to love the day we're going to have."

Konan looped her arm with Sakura's, chatting animatedly as she led her away, reaching sedately into her cloak with her free arm and removing something in her fisted hand.

"Perhaps I'll see you later then Sakura?.." Sasori said as he watched her go, waiting to see if the girl gave any response.

As Sakura, smiling, glanced back over her shoulder, Konan reached up and swiftly jammed a syringe into her other arm, moving so fast that her movements were barely a blur. Sakura made a choked gurgle as she immediately slumped over, nearly falling to the floor. Konan caught her around the waist in a fluid motion and leaned her sagging frame against her, continuing to walk as though nothing had happened.

"I can't help but notice that you used my poison… at a much higher concentration than I used to deplete her chakra. If you aren't careful, you might kill her." Sasori mentioned offhandedly.

"Leader-sama's orders, what can I say? I'm supposed to build her up on this slowly, so that by the end of the month, she'll be able to handle the biggest dose available without dying… Talk to him if you have a problem with it." Konan answered brusquely, not bothering to turn around as she walked out the door.

"I have no problem…. It's just interesting is all." Sasori replied quietly, contemplating the Leader's reasoning in using one of Sasori's most powerful and painful poisons on his own daughter. Yes, he'd used it to torture the girl and keep her chakra in check, but even he had been careful to monitor the levels of poison carefully. Leader-sama seemed indifferent to the long-term effects such strong chakra suppression could have on the chakra and nervous systems, and after his doting behavior before, Sasori was determined to find out why there was this sudden change.

**A**s his brother reached him, Sasuke's face contorted in the most horrific terror he had ever felt, his whole body shaking. This was it…

As Itachi reached out, coughing up huge amounts of blood again, he managed through coughs to get out, "My eyes… Sasuke, you will be my light…." Sasuke braced for the inevitable, unable to move from the severe chakra depletion, when Itachi reached out, and poked his forehead, his hand lingering for a moment before trailing down Sasuke's face.

Sasuke was too shocked to even comprehend what had happened, but his brother fell onto his back, letting out a choked laugh before everything suddenly went silent.

After a few moments passed, and he didn't get back up, all of the day's events rushed back onto Sasuke, who no longer had to think only of saving his life. Hyperventilating, he fell too, trying to figure out how Itachi missed his eyes- his aim couldn't have been that bad.

If only he knew just how deep the meaning behind his brother's words was, he wouldn't have allowed himself a moment's rest no matter how shocked or injured, but weakened and relieved as he was, he just lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness.

**K**isame stopped, mid-swing, turning fully and looking out into the distance.

Suigetsu's blade missed him by inches as he tried to retract his attack, confused and curious as to why Kisame chose to stop and turn around right in the middle of their fight. And it was getting so good too. Yeah, Suigetsu had lost a hell of a lot of chakra to that sword of his, but still, he had to admit that Kisame was a really good opponent to fight, and he was having a blast. "What's wrong?"

"I have to go. Um, look, sorry Suigetsu-kun, it was nice to see you again, and I'm sure your brother would've been proud and all of that. But…I've really gotta go." Kisame quickly started to rewrap Samehada.

"Why? What-"

"Sasuke-kun!! I don't feel his chakra anymore!! Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?!... He can't be dead, he wouldn't leave me like this!!" Karin suddenly screamed, running in the direction of the Uchiha brothers' fight. Juugo followed after her, trying to calm her down.

Suigetsu looked at Kisame.

"Hell, I don't know about Sasuke-kun, Itachi-san said he'd probably come out of this alive. Some family member needed him or something, I couldn't get all the details. But I don't feel Itachi-san's chakra, so I have to go." Kisame dejectedly put Samehada on his back and left while Suigetsu ran after Karin.

**"W**hat do you mean?... Listen up you dumb frog, he promised me he was coming back, so you're obviously wrong. Shizune!"

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?..." Shizune asked nervously from the doorway, where she'd been standing to try to avoid the shards of desk, chairs, and sake bottles that had just recently been falling every which way around the room.

"Go get me 3 ANBU squads! No, make it 4! This is a rescue and recovery mission of the greatest importance!..." Tsunade sounded almost frantic in her order to Tsunade, and Shizune didn't dare argue with her in her manic state, even if her request didn't make much sense. She was out the door in seconds.

"Now you." Tsunade turned fiercely to the little toad seated on what was left of her desk. "Tell me more about this…Pein. What was Jiraiya's message to me?! And how do you expect me to believe that he lost?! Even against the leader of Akatsuki, still, he's a Sannin for Kami's sake!"

Tsunade leaned against the window, clutching her sake bottle for dear life as she took a long drink from it, downing almost half the bottle. There was no way she was going to believe that Jiraiya was really dead, that she's lost another one of her precious people. This stupid frog had obviously left before everything was over, she had even said that, so how could she know? All Tsunade knew was that she was getting Jiraiya back and wiping out every last Akatsuki member if it killed her.

"What can I say? When he summoned us he was already in bad trouble, but things got really bad when he got so outnumbered. Me an' Pa couldn't do nothing, no matter what we tried, there were still more." The toad broke eye contact, looking away and out the window sadly.

"So, all of Akatsuki was there? I thought you told me he was only fighting their leader?!..." Tsunade asked loudly.

"Well, far as I know, it was jus' the leader. But ya see, that's the thing. His kekkei genkai, there were like 6 of him, all with a different ability, all looked different, like they was different people- but they all got those eyes… Rinnegan Jiraiya says, he said you'd know what those were. Jiraiya almost beat 'im too, but he just couldn't do it, there was too many of 'em."

Tsunade stared hard at the toad. "Rinnegan…. Where's Shizune?... We need to call back Sakura's rescue teams immediately. Naruto is in grave danger…"

* * *

Okay, so the chapter ends in a retarded place, but it was either that, or go into stuff that would take like 5 more pages, and be a lot more in depth. I'd rather keep the more plotty stuff with Sasuke and with Sakura/Sasori to next chapter, where I have more room to flesh it out. And that way, that can be the focal point of the chapter, with a little of Naruto, and maybe some more Pein involved. I did promise Pein, but said I didn't think it could work with him this chapter. And so, the consensus is no lemon. I'm not going to just pile loads of fluff on you though, because fluff is unrealistic. What guy, really, only looks for fluffy kisses and cuddling in a relationship? There'll be a little of that, yes, but there will be more than that to come, and I may imply some heavier stuff...not sex, because some of you don't want to read that because of the pairing or whatever... but there's plenty more to imply right? Without having to go all the way, lol?... So yeah. Sorry for the filler chapter, but hopefully you don't hate me!! :)


	15. Chapter 15

Okay everyone, you all wanted some more SakuSaso action, and here it is. There won't be a lemon in the story though, so don't panic and shield your eyes...I was gentle with your fragile psyches. It isn't fluff though- fluff is pointless after a while, and it tends to annoy me. But yeah, no lemon...or lime, though we'll see how I feel about implying things very carefully later. I mean, I only have about 4 more chapters to work with here, maybe 5. So yes, things will begin to tie up... starting next chapter I guess, I'm not sure. Apparently I'm going to have some fanart for this story very soon too, so I want you all to look out for that- once I get the link, I'm posting it in my profile, and I hope you'll go and give the artist all the amazing credit she is due!! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter...there might not be an update for another 2 or 3 weeks. But if there's something you don't like here, let me know ASAP so I can edit it before Monday. :) I'm always happy to edit anything that sucks(I don't have a beta and do all my proofreading myself, so I have trouble with critiquing, etc.)

The summary: Leader-sama has finally won a long and brutal court case against his ex-wife(and yes, this could happen. There have been divorces, and lawyers, since at least the 5th century B.C. Deal with it.). Finally, he's proven that he is the more responsible parent, and has gained full custody of their, now teenaged, daughter, whom he hasn't seen in 10 years. Happy though he is to have her back though, and away from his wife and her second husband, a leader of a terrorist organization of S-class missing-nins, bent on world domination only has so much quality time to spend with his little princess. Therefore, he's enlisted the help of the recently returned Sasori and Deidara, since both have their jinchuuriki obligations fulfilled- and aside from possibly turning his daughter into art, Sasori seems like a level-headed, trustworthy guy. Deidara isn't too far off from her age, and might be able to relate to and talk to her if she needs a confidant in Leader's absence- someone like Itachi sure as hell couldn't fill that role. So, they've been given strict orders, and have to make sure the girl is safe and happy. But is everything going to go as planned, death threats or no?...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 15_

**S**akura wasn't sure what was supposed to be so fun about this 'female bonding' time, or whatever the hell the blue-haired woman, Konan, had called it. All she knew was, she would have gladly exchanged this evening for a week stuck chained to Rock Lee. Her vision was swimming, dotted with little black spots and stars, and it took everything she had to manage to keep herself upright and keep her dignity.

They were at some kind of coffee bar, as far as Sakura could tell, but it was the most pathetic excuse for one she'd ever seen, and the snacks and drinks had the taste of mildew. Konan didn't seem to notice though, or if she did she didn't mind.

"So Sakura-san," Konan smiled, taking a sip of her iced Thai coffee, "I have to say, you look amazing in that red dress we picked out. I'll bet a certain someone would love to see it."

Sakura replied in an annoyed tone, "I'm sure he would. He said something about me being his little work of art or something, and he's always dressing those puppets up, like a little girl playing with her dolls…" Sakura sighed, shaking her head weakly as she picked at her wagashi.

Konan nearly choked on her coffee. "Excuse me? What does he have to do with anything?... I meant that that poor boy who died…you really cared about him, didn't you? I just thought it would have been sweet if he could have seen you in that new dress, wearing it just for him." Konan stared at Sakura waiting for a response.

Sakura started awkwardly. "Um, yeah… I'm not really sure what Sasori-san has to do with anything actually. You know how he is, always talking about his puppets and all, it was nothing he just likes teasing me." Sakura quickly said, her eyes turning glassy as she stared into her cup. "And… Sasuke's favorite color was blue, not red; he never did like the dress I used to wear… though I guess he didn't care really… But if I could see him again, even for a second, I wouldn't even care what I was wearing even if I was stuck in a combination of Naruto's and Lee's clothes and smelled like Akamaru… I miss him so much…" Sakura sighed wistfully.

Konan just nodded, pretending to pay attention to the girl's lament. She'd done what was needed, she'd gotten her into a depressed stupor about the Uchiha boy and she could see that with prodding, Sakura would be willing to do anything for him if it meant seeing him safe and sound. "Why don't we head back now? It's getting late, and I'd hate for you to be tired tomorrow." Konan got up quickly, moving and helping Sakura out of her seat. If he hadn't left yet, Konan really needed to speak with Pein, and that meant that they needed to get back soon.

**"D**ammit, we shouldn't be stopping here…" Naruto grumbled to himself as he searched the area for firewood. Well, at least that's what he was supposed to be doing, but he just couldn't seem to take his mind off of Sakura long enough to find any; a single twig rested in his arms, after a good 15 minutes of searching. Luckily Sai had been asked to help when Kakashi had noticed Naruto's detached attitude, and he was doing a far better job.

Suddenly, Naruto heard a sound coming from the bushes in front of him. "Oi, who's there…dattebayo?!" Naruto called out, pulling out a kunai. As he got closer to the bushes, an adorable little rabbit with doey eyes bolted from the area. "Oh, it was just a cute little bunny." Naruto laughed.

"Hey, Dickless, are you almost done?" Sai called out.

"Shut up, yeah Sai, I just have to get a few more pieces." Naruto looked down at his arms, and gulped. He was sure his arms had been full of wood…. "Um, you can go back without me, I'll just be a few seconds!"

Sai shook his head and turned back towards the camp, before he stopped and turned back, walking over to Naruto. It was pathetic that Naruto had taken this long and only gotten one stick, but the friendship guide had said something like 'a friend in need is a friend indeed', and as far as Sai could understand, he was supposed to help Naruto, so that they could finish quicker.

"Demo...I thought I had more... That sucks." Naruto ground out, turning back to look for more logs.

**S**asuke opened his eyes to an inky darkness, broken only by the light of a single dim candle flickering in the far corner of the room. He glanced around, not recognizing his surroundings at all, a deep sickening fear settling into the pit of his stomach.

He reached for his weapons pouch as he struggled to make his way to his feet, then glanced down sharply as he fell back to a sitting position weakly. Someone had taken the liberty of changing his clothes, removing all of his weapons from his person in the process, including the seals he had on his arms for summoning shuriken.

His body ached from top to bottom from the sheer effort of having tried to rise from the bedding he had been placed on, but he ignored it as he summoned his last bits of strength and tried even harder to get up and out of the dark room.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the far side, and a door opened, flooding the room with light. Sasuke blinked sharply as his eyes focused on the figure before him. "I gave you some first aid. You won, but you're still badly injured. You shouldn't be so careless with your life Sasuke-kun, with your brother gone your life is much more important now."

Sasuke stared at him, taking in the orange mask, as realization suddenly hit him.

Tobi put up his hands. "I know what you're thinking, but I'm not your enemy, and I'm not concerned about what happened with Deidara. I just needed to tell you something…something about Itachi."

"Why should I care about that bastard?..." Sasuke ground out.

"Sasuke, Sasuke…. You think you know so much about him, but you don't know anything at all. You don't know anything about why or how it all happened." Tobi sighed. "Fine, let me start by introducing myself." He carefully reached up and pulled off his mask, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw the Sharingan. "I, like you, am a living breathing Uchiha- Uchiha Madara. You have to understand Sasuke, you aren't the only one hurting here; allow me to tell you the truth."

Sasuke glared at him in disbelief, and suddenly his eyes began to burn, his hands flying to his head in pain as they bled to red and Tobi jumped back, on fire. "Well," he laughed, "I suppose Itachi plans for everything, doesn't he?"

Sasuke just looked on in shock, as Tobi sat down and started talking.

**S**akura weakly made her way to her room, wishing beyond anything that she was in Konoha right now so that she could make an antidote to this godforsaken chakra-leeching poison. Having to be dragged around by Konan to various stores and eateries didn't help either that was for sure.

**S**he reached out for her doorknob with shaking fingers, jumping as a cold hand closed over her own. "Sakura, allow me."

She nodded weakly, waiting for him to open her door so she could get to her bed and blissful sleep, when suddenly she found herself in the air. "Wha-what're you doing?!"

Sasori didn't answer, just giving her a knowing smirk as he carried her into the room and put her on the bed. He sat himself easily onto the bed next to her upper body and reached into his cloak silently while giving Sakura a contemplative stare.

Sakura immediately sat up and tried to move past him and off of the bed, but Sasori pushed her back with a firm hand. "Don't move, you're too weak to be exerting any more chakra. Normally sleep would rectify the situation, but I'd rather not wait and see…" Sasori's hand slipped out of his cloak, a syringe in his hand.

"Stop!.. What do you think you're doing?!" Sakura weakly tried to push him off of her and get off the bed as he shoved her back into a lying position and stabbed the needle into her arm. Sakura wriggled angrily out of his grasp, slapping his hand away and ripping the needle out of her arm.

"Well, I see that being completely helpless doesn't do anything to help your temper." Sasori commented dryly.

Sakura just glared. "What the hell was that? What're you trying to do, kill me?! You know that if my chakra is drained any further or any more tax is put onto my system that I could go into shock! I know that you know that- especially since she used your poison on me!" Sakura balled her hands into fists, nearly screaming at him from where she stood inches in front of him.

"Please Sakura, sit down…" Sasori sighed shaking his head. "I suppose that next time I'll know not to bother giving you the antidote to my poison then, since you're less than appreciative."

Sakura gasped, leaving her hands to hang at her sides as she stared at him in disbelief. "The..antidote?... But why would you give me the antidote, after you gave the poison to Konan-san?..." Sakura blushed at her actions, staring at the floor. She never would have expected him to give her the antidote, but it was obvious, now that she thought about it, and here she'd been ready to use every last ounce of her strength to try to rip him apart.

He chuckled lightly. "I was forced to give away the ingredients and methods to create some of my less potent poisons to the Leader, I guess as some sort of security measure on his part, when I joined. One of those was the chakra inhibiting poison, which was useful to the whole organization anyway. I didn't give Konan-san the poison that she injected you with today, the Leader must have told her to do it. And as for me trying to kill you, believe me, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it already- even though I would have to incur the wrath of your father."

Sasori stood, closing the gap between himself and Sakura. "Oh, don't worry, it wasn't a full dose, if you're expecting to be breaking down the walls in some pathetic escape attempt Sakura. I'm not that foolish. But I suppose you could say I felt sorry for you, that I didn't want to see you with that spark of yours completely burnt out. You looked so pathetic, and I've certainly seen enough of you in that state these past few days."

He took her arm gently and led her back to the bed. "That doesn't mean that you don't need sleep though, even with the antidote restoring your chakra pathways."

Sakura followed and sat on the edge of the bed, Sasori sitting next to her, in fact right up against her. She tensed at the proximity, staring out at the far wall of the room and looking at the patterns the wallpaper made with fervent curiosity. Mentally, she was screaming that he was too close, but Inner Sakura seemed to think differently and was cheering in the background, finally winning over her unsureity.

She relaxed slowly, bringing herself to look Sasori in the eyes, and immediately she was sorry that she did. He had been staring at her the whole time, and as she met his gaze, she saw a deep warmth and desire in his glassy eyes that she had never seen before, that she didn't even know could be there. He was still cold on the exterior, sitting rigidly and smirking amusedly at her, but that depth said all that needed to be said.

His eyes just drew her in somehow. Before Sakura knew what she was doing, she was leaning forward, and as Sasori laced his arm around her back, her lips were crushed against his. She didn't hesitate at all this time, feeling a sudden rush as he bit lightly on her lower lip and she opened her mouth to allow him entrance. She pushed one leg underneath her, and pushed herself closer to Sasori's cold body, as he pulled her towards him with the arm around her waist.

A moment later, Sakura found herself being pushed down into the soft down of her pillows, Sasori's weight expertly perched just above her as he ravaged her mouth, causing Sakura to make muffled gasps of pleasure. He slowly removed the arm that had been encircling her waist, his hand rubbing her back in concentric circles before leisurely moving his hand along her hip, trailing it farther and farther down, eliciting even more sounds of pleasure from Sakura.

Finally he broke the kiss when Sakura looked ready to burst of pleasure, instead languidly trailing soft kisses along her neck and collarbone, only increasing Sakura's pleasure.

As Sasori continued trailing the kisses downwards, his caress making its way to the hem of her skirt, Sakura snapped back to awareness, turning her body away. "We- we really shouldn't be doing this…" She breathed.

"Nonsense. I think the line of what should and should not be done was crossed quite some time ago. And you and I both know that you can't deny your feelings." Sasori replied in a husky voice. He stopped his ministrations though, pausing and smirking at Sakura.

"No. No, stop!" She said urgently, firm in her resolve. She stared him down, and suddenly her eyes flashed for a moment, losing their color and regaining it so fast that Sasori almost missed it. Intrigued, he leaned back down towards Sakura's lips, holding her gaze.

As Sakura grew frustrated, not having the strength to send Sasori flying into a wall- or to gently push him off of her, because for some reason, she didn't want to send him hurtling across the room- Sasori saw it again. Her eyes bled to white, the beautiful shimmering emerald remaining only in a few carefully distanced rings running around her iris.

Sasori immediately broke eye contact and stood from the bed, pulling Sakura up into a sitting position as he did so. It was already gone he noticed, and Sakura didn't seem to have realized anything had been off, as she sat there and fumed at him, but the implications were huge. Was this the reason she was brought here in the first place? Even without sufficient chakra to perform the simplest jutsu, she had managed this.

"What are you doing?..." She asked cautiously, as he stared at her intently. She blinked hard, her eyes aching and sending a splitting headache through her. She wasn't sure if it was the lack of chakra of Sasori's injection, but she leaned back onto the soft pillows carefully, bracing her head as she gave him a pleading look.

"Well, get your rest Sakura." He said offhandedly, turning towards the door. As a puppet, he couldn't be killed by those eyes, or have his body stolen. He could be destroyed though, and having to go through the whole process of being revived in a new body, yet again, didn't sound very exciting. But if Sakura felt the need to defend herself again, as her chakra began to return, it would be like a loose cannon, with her unable to control it he was sure, and puppet or not, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of those eyes if she accidentally awakened some of their power, even for a moment.

He found it interesting that even when the brat was completely helpless and weak, her body found some way to defend itself, to back her powerful temper with more than just words. Of course this would have to happen when she was almost completely drained of chakra, though he hadn't even stopped to consider before that she might take after her father. He felt an even deeper appreciation for the girl's worth than before, assured now that she truly was a special work of art.

"Wait, don't go." Sakura called after him a bit unsurely. "I..I don't want you to have to leave." She finished awkwardly.

Sasori turned back to look at her pleading gaze. Finally he turned and made his way back, pulling up her armchair and sitting himself next to the bed. Sakura smiled despite herself. "There. Now, as I said, you'll need your sleep if you want to regain your chakra. I suppose I'll stay here until you fall asleep."

Sakura nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing soon after signifying that she had fallen asleep. Sasori reached out carefully, caressing her cheek with the back of his smooth hand as he watched her sleep. She shifted, leaning into his caress, a smile making it's way to her lips as Sasori quietly withdrew his hand and left the room.

**H**e couldn't deny it anymore, he realized as he walked back to his own room. His plans for the girl had definitely worked, perfectly, but perhaps a little too perfectly. It was obvious that he'd managed to elicit feelings in Sakura, but underneath his cold unfeeling façade, Sakura was pulling at him in the same way. He'd tried to deny it, to push it down; after all, he wasn't supposed to feel anything, he couldn't. He had told himself that it was all part of the game he was playing with her, to draw her in and watch as she gained trust in him, and was left broken and destroyed when she learned that it had all been a ploy, nothing more.

But after tonight, after looking into her eyes as he kissed her, imagining the feeling as his hands ran along her perfectly sculpted body, he couldn't deny it any longer. The little brat, that weak, pathetically fragile little girl, had been the only one capable of breaking through his carefully conditioned temperament. And he couldn't deny that he'd enjoyed it either.

**"Y**our brother truly cared for you Sasuke. Everything he did was for you, be it pushing you to become stronger, or his actions during the fight. He managed to release you from the cursed seal, managed to find a way to give you his eyes in one form or another, even while keeping up his façade. It was all part of his plan to save you in the end, because of how much he loved you."

"You're lying, you have to be!"

"If he had been serious about killing you, he already would have Sasuke. But everything he did was carefully planned to save you Sasuke, and to let you know the truth, the truth about how he could never kill you, of how you needed to be his salvation for all the pain he felt. For the guilt he felt for being forced to kill the clan. It's all that village's fault, don't you see?... You're a smart young man, surely you must understand by now." Madara folded his arms across his chest as Sasuke stared into his lap in silence, eyes wide.

Suddenly Sasuke spoke. "I'm going to make them pay." He looked up at Madara, his gaze fierce. "I'm going to make Konoha pay for what they did to my family!"

Madara smiled underneath his mask. "What do you propose to do?..." He asked, almost tauntingly.

"I'm going to destroy Konoha, I'm going to make them feel all the pain that I've had to carry for all these years. I'm going to destroy them just like they destroyed the clan." He paused. "Where's my team?..." He asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, your team is nearby. They can be summoned on a moment's notice. However Sasuke," Madara said slowly, standing, "as evidenced by your injuries,' he motioned towards Sasuke, "you have a tendency to be careless with yourself. You want to restore the clan to its former glory, and seek revenge against the village that destroyed your life. But what if you should die?"

Sasuke began to voice his protest, but Madara quickly interrupted, holding up his hand to silence him. "Sasuke, you are not invincible no matter how powerful you are. I don't deny that you are one of the most powerful ninja that has ever lived and I have confidence in you, but things happen that we can't control. You wouldn't make me the only Uchiha, would you?..." Madara leaned against the wall, his gaze boring into Sasuke as he awaited an answer.

"What are you saying?..." Sasuke asked quietly.

"I think it's obvious Sasuke. Go, destroy Konoha. I will be there with you every step of the way of course. But it's imperative that you first ensure the continuation of the clan." Madara said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sasuke stared at him in disgust, but finally managed to find his voice, quickly getting up. "Where's Karin?"

"Sasuke, Sasuke, you don't mean that redhead... No, we want the clan to return to it's former glory. You need a girl with power, with potential. And I have the perfect one in mind."

Poor Sasuke had no idea of the madness he was getting himself into. He had no way of knowing that Itachi's real goal had been to feign loyalty to Madara until his death, and use the gift he had given his brother to end their errant ancestor once and for all. But Sasuke would never be Itachi's light.

* * *

So, it's a shorter chapter than most of mine, but it served its purpose. It got what needed to be said said. I was thinking of making it longer, but then it would lose the drama, and what's the point in that? Quality over quantity as the saying goes... For anyone who didn't have it figured out yet, yes, Sasori's plan was to lead Sakura on, make her think he loved her and make her love him. After all, he knows all about how dumb girls can be when it comes to emotions, and how attached they get to them, basing almost all their actions off of them. If he did anything drastic, and then just dropped her, as though she were meaningless, an emotionally fragile girl like her would be broken and damaged beyond repair mentally and emotionally. Only thing is, he's fallen for her too, and he tried denying it, but he knows it's pointless to deny anymore, even if he doesn't know how it happened.

I think you all got the whole Sasuke and Sakura thing that Madara has in the works though. And what happened with Sakura makes sense, because unlike the Sharingan, when Pein was a kid, he didn't have chakra control and wasn't a ninja, yet awakened his Rinnegan. It seems to work in times of need, when the person has no other defense, and doesn't necessarily have chakra to use...of course, that doesn't mean it can be controlled without chakra, but it can be awakened. Sakura couldn't use her strength, her body was screaming for defenses to beat the shit out of Sasori- and even though the 'danger' passed, it still came out for a second. Somebody asked if and when Sakura was going to get her father's bloodline limit, and though I originally hadn't accounted for that at all in the story, that reviewer made me think and decide to add that in- because hell, if my readers want it, I do it. :)

Sorry if something seems completely stupid and nonsensical to you. I try, but I'm not perfect. PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, well here's a new chapter. It's not the best, but hell, I'm taking Physics and Organic Chemistry, I was lucky I even found a few hours to write anything at all. I'm going to assume that everyone knows Jiraiya.. ya know...and that the code was brought to Naruto and gang a some point just before this chapter starts.

As of 3/19/10- actually, I edited the chapter. The Naruto/Pein fight will occur much as it did in the manga, with a few exceptions that aren't too important. But Pein's death will be important...a-duh...because if you are up to date with the manga, you know that...well, nevermind.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

_**Daughter of the Dawn**_

_Chapter 16_

**P**ein paused for a moment. Of all the times to be contacted, someone just had to choose now. Luckily he hadn't left Amegakure unattended, and two of his other bodies were there to deal with matters. But the glow of the ring was rather annoying- luckily the boy was too dense to notice the light, or the slight chakra surge in his finger.

Pein's long-haired, Deidara look-alike body however responded immediately to the summons from the ring, performing he necessary handseals and appearing on the sealing statue, Konan already there waiting complacently.

"Yes?"

"I think that the girl should be taken to Amegakure to await Madara-sama's plans Pein." Konan replied.

"Really. And why is that? She isn't being mistreated again.." Pein stated, Rinnegan eyes boring into Konan.

"No, she's not, but that's the problem actually. I feel she is becoming too close with some of the members, Sasori-san most of all. It couldn't be helped, Konoha-nin are bred to consider loyalty to friendships and bonds most important of all. And on top of that, she's a woman, you can't expect her not to find bonds and relationships important."

Konan glanced up at Pein, whose face quickly contorted from surprise to anger at the word 'relationship'.

"Do you mean to tell me that Sasori-san, even when told expressly to keep his distance from my daughter, has become involved with her?"

"No, I'm not saying that. Just that when we were talking, she accidentally brought him up. There was no evidence of a relationship on his part, however from what I saw, your daughter seems to feel as though she is getting close with him. I couldn't even tell you if she realizes it or if it is subconscious, but you asked for my opinion when you sent me here, and I fear that if allowed to remain much longer, we may have problems with Madara-sama's plans." Konan said quietly.

"You're certain that this would be for the best." Pein stated, a bit unsurely. He had matters to attend to in Amegakure, he couldn't exactly monitor the child- and he would rather Konan not have to be burdened with this task either. They had more important matters, and the care of the girl was supposed to fall to the lesser members. "She will have to remain with you, I cannot take out the time to constantly watch her, and she cannot be allowed out, to see where we are."

"I realize that," Konan replied, nodding softly. "I'll do whatever it is that you require of me Pein, you know that."

**"H**mph, can you believe it? I can't believe you all knew about it and that I was left to last, even though I was Itachi-san's partner, and I used to support the Mizukage…" Kisame said as he plopped down into a recliner, tossing Samehada onto the floor beside him.

"Excuse me?" Sasori said disinterestedly, not even bothering to look up or greet the fellow Akatsuki member as he entered the room.

"Oh, you know, I mean about the thing with Itachi-san's kid brother, and Tobi being the real Akatsuki Leader and all." Kisame said sitting up in the chair, suddenly full of energy at the prospect of conversation with the puppet master. "I mean, I don't think they told me everything, but maybe they told you something I don't know."

Sasori's head had whipped around to stare at Kisame, a careful mask of tranquility hiding his shock and disbelief at what Kisame had just said. Surely he had misunderstood or Kisame was confused somehow. That little idiot that was always chasing Deidara around and whining about being a good boy could no more be a leader of anything than one of Kisame's pet fish could. The boy was utterly retarded.

"I rather doubt that." Sasori said carefully. "Pray tell, what did they tell you? If I knew I could see if either of us was denied any details." Sasori stared at him evenly.

"Oh, um..okay." Kisame sat back into the chair, folding his arms and getting more comfortable. "Well, here's the deal, after Itachi died, I got a message to come to this lake on the border of Mizu no Kuni, and Tobi met me there. The kid rips off his mask, and turns out he's not some dumb kid, he's the old Mizukage, and he's the leader too. I never would've guessed, I mean really, would you have?"

"No." Sasori said truthfully, placing his puppet aside and going to sit on the couch, across from Kisame.

"So… I always knew that Itachi-san had help and all, but damn, the Mizukage is his and Sasuke-kun's uncle or grandfather or something, I never even thought about it. So, now we're working together with Sasuke-kun, to get the Hacibi and Kyuubi, and destroy Konoha, and then Madara-sama and Sasuke-kun were saying something about needing our little 'cherry blossom' to make sure he's safe and everything goes smoothly, and that in case he gets his ass kicked the bloodline continues. I guess they told you right out that that's why you had to keep the girl safe and all, but still, I know how much you hated it anyway. They should've told me sooner, I would've loved to watch her instead, if it was for Itachi and the Mizukage's sakes…." Kisame trailed off, and Sasori could swear he detected a note of hurt in his voice, but he didn't have time to dwell on that.

Luckily Kisame was a talker, much like Deidara had been. There were times when Sasori had been on the verge of killing the two of them when they got into deep conversation and just wouldn't stop, making him have to wait for nearly an hour to get going to wherever it was they needed to go. But for once, Sasori was glad the shark man loved to talk.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted as Kisame broke in, "So…. What did they tell you then Sasori-san? I mean, you must know more about your end of things, with the Leader's..or well… Pein's daughter. Damn that feels awkward to say…"

"No, actually, I seem to have been given exactly the same information as you were." Sasori got up suddenly from his place on the sofa. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a puppet that is need of attention- and the brat needs to be fed."

"Yeah, I guess they'll have your head if she isn't healthy." Kisame laughed. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then." Kisame waved him off, still chuckling. As Sasori left the room though, suddenly a thought came to him, "Hey wait a second… Do you think that Hidan knew too?" He asked, becoming serious.

Sasori paused in the doorway. "I would suppose so, if you were told you were the last to know."

"Oh, come on…." Kisame said, pouting as he fell back into the chair again, thoroughly pissed off.

**S**asori grabbed an apple off of the kitchen table, and an old carton of orange juice from the refrigerator and threw it absentmindedly onto a tray for Sakura.

**H**e headed back to his room to put his puppet back in its place, since now was definitely not the time to be working on his art, but instead of going to Sakura's room found himself sitting at his desk, his head a tumult with the information Kisame had just given him, trying to make any sense of it all, the tray lying forgotten at his side.

First of all, Tobi was as completely retarded as they come. If it was true that he was the leader of the organization, as well as Itachi's relative and the Mizukage, then he was certainly dangerous, and an expert in duplicity. It would help to explain how the brat had died so easily…Tobi was pathetic, but Deidara had spoken about some special jutsu of his used to take down the Sanbi. But if he was that Uchiha's relative, why defend Deidara more than absolutely necessary?

**S**asori got up abruptly, leaving for Sakura's room. Weighing the options, he had to warn her. Yes he would like to have his revenge and see the girl suffer, but if she was used by Pein and Tobi, and then killed, he didn't fit into the equation at all. Better off to placate her now, and use that to his advantage once these obstacles were out of his way.

**S**hikamaru had been staring at Jiraiya's code, which Naruto had helped to decipher before going for wood. Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of the message, and so far, neither could he or the girl from the intelligence agency that had been sent to them with it after Tsunade had no clue what the numbers meant.

"I don't see how there could not be a real one. How troublesome.." Shikamaru muttered, his fingers held together in his trademark thinking position.

"Maybe they were all clones?..." Shiho supplied, staring at Shikamaru and shoving her glasses up. "…But then again, there would have to be a real someone, somewhere…"

"Hmph." Shikamaru leaned back against a tree. "Unless he meant just that, but why would that be such a secret, that the ones he fought were only clones? I guess we have no choice except to wait for that autopsy.." He sighed.

Shiho inched closer to him, "Oh no, I'm sure that you can figure it out." She gushed.

Shikamaru looked up at her strangely, but at that moment the loud cry of a hawk resounded through the forest, before a bird gracefully landed and settled itself on the low branch of a sapling next to the group. The branch bowed under its weight as it cried out again, this time much more softly.

Shikamaru glanced lazily at the bird, not willing to get up to retrieve the message it held. Luckily, Lee was all to eager to run over and take the message from the bird.

"Oooh, what does it say?" Ino asked curiously, sidling up to him. Any bit of juicy information for her was like a moth to the flame, and she was dying to know. Lee opened the scroll carefully, unfolding it and reading quickly through, as Ino looked on over his shoulder in rapt interest.

"It says that we are to return to Konoha immediately, under Tsunade-sama's orders." Lee said loudly, as he walked over to Kakashi and handed him the scroll.

He glanced it over quickly, his eye widening slightly, before folding it up in his hand and getting up. "Pack your things, we're returning to Konoha. Sai, have your clone tell Naruto to get back here right away." Kakashi's eye crinkled, showing that he was giving everyone a reassuring smile, even though it couldn't be seen beneath his mask.

It was pure luck that Tsunade had managed to send out her message to Sakura's rescue team. Whether it was luck of the positive or negative kind however was left up to debate, as the situation had changed drastically in the time since Tsunade had ordered the hawk sent. The very reason she was calling Naruto back to Konoha for, was now in Konoha.

**S**asori didn't even bother knocking as he entered Sakura's room. He just didn't feel that it was worth wasting the time he would have to wait.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sakura squealed, turning around immediately and grabbing the pile of clothing from the floor to shield herself. "Don't you know how to knock you pervert?! I was getting dressed!"

"If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times, something like that doesn't faze me." Sasori sighed, shaking his head. Though his gaze did linger on her for a bit longer than appropriate before finally tearing his eyes away from her lithe form.

"Fine, whatever, just leave and let me get dressed." Sakura said angrily, trying to shoo him out.

"No, you have a bathroom, change in there. I need to talk to you, and it can't wait."

Sakura scrutinized him for a moment. "If this is about us, and whatever it is that's going on, then just pretend that nothing ever happened if that makes you happy. I couldn't care less." Sakura lied, before turning towards the bathroom.

"As much as I would love to discuss relationship problems with you…." Sasori drawled, "I don't see there being anything to discuss. But I felt I should inform you that your father is selling you out as a whore to Uchiha Sasuke's only living relative, who is apparently the true leader of the organization. …To bear Sasuke's children."

Sakura dropped the clothes from her hands, whipping around towards Sasori her face contorted in shock and disbelief. "You're lying. Why are you telling me these things?! You know that Sasuke was killed by Deidara-san…" She choked back a sob.

"Apparently not." He said, closing the distance between them. "I've been informed that he's just killed his brother, and is planning to attack Konoha, though I'm not sure of all the details. But you Sakura-san," he said, cupping her chin lightly, "are apparently the fall back in case he gets killed. Your purpose here is to provide the Uchiha clan with heirs."

"Why would you tell me these things? Won't you get in trouble?" Sakura asked, pulling away and glaring at him, not believing any of it.

"I suppose I might. But I can't see someone like you used for something so useless." Sasori replied, smirking.

"Well, I wouldn't let something like that happen anyway. I mean, I'll do whatever I can to help Sasuke-kun, but I'm not going to let him destroy our village while I sit at home having kids." Sakura said angrily.

"You might not have a choice. There's really only one option that I can see. If you were made into a human puppet, you couldn't exactly be forced into child bearing. I'm more than willing to save you Sakura-san."

"Yeah, save me for yourself and your sick little fetishes I'm sure. No way, I'll never let you make me into one of your puppets! …And I won't let my father use me for his plans either." Sakura said firmly, before grabbing her clothes and walking into the bathroom, slamming the door.

**S**asori stood there until a knock came at the door, followed by it quickly opening.

"Sasori-san. Sakura-san is being taken to Amegakure, so you'll be glad to know you won't have the burden of watching her anymore. You're dismissed."

Sasori stared at Konan for a moment in shock before nodding and leaving the room. If the girl wouldn't listen to reason, that wasn't his problem anymore. The only thing was, he couldn't shake the need to help her from his mind. 


	17. Chapter 17

Well...um... -looks around nervously- Here's a new chapter!! If anyone is even still reading this, since I took a freakin year and a half to update. I'm really sorry about that, but sh*t happens, you know? It old you I don't abandon my stories though, and see, I didn't lie!

Anyway...I really thought Sakura was getting less pathetic in the manga, since the time she managed to kill Sasori. But omg, did anyone read the latest chapter? She just stands there and cries, and she's all like 'well, I'm weak and pathetic, so I'm going to put all my trust in my boys to set things right.' Wow. Sakura, you just reached an all new level of fail. Kishimoto, you sexist bastard go to hell. What girl would actually just stand there and cry? None that I know. Sorry, this just bothers me, and I had to get it off my chest.

As always, a time or place skip is denoted by the first letter of the paragraph being bolded.

Oh, and don't start expecting regular updates. Sorry. I'll update as often as I can. :)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto. Nor do I own any characters in aforementioned series. All rights and privileges belong solely to Masashi Kishimoto, the series' creator. I just wrote this fan-fic was all...

* * *

**Daughter of the Dawn**

_Chapter 17_

**"L**ook, Sasori-san, I don't agree-" She didn't finish the sentence, instead staring at the bed. As Sakura emerged from the bathroom, still slightly pissed but cooled down a little, she was surprised to find Konan sitting primly on the bed, instead of Sasori. Her eyes searched the room as Konan looked at her inquiringly. Finally, Sakura focused her attention back on the woman seated on the bed. "Where did Sasori-san go?" It was no secret that she didn't like Konan- not after their last encounter- and she didn't like the look Konan was giving her.

"Oh, well he was ordered to go on another mission. He doesn't have to worry about caring for you anymore; that's my mission now," Konan smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes, "and you're coming with me to Amegakure. Needless to say, he seemed pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing. You can be quite the handful." Konan stood, heading for the door. "Pack your things, we're leaving in half an hour." Konan said coldly, before leaving the room, the resounding thud of the door the only sound as Sakura stood in stunned silence.

She contemplated refusing for a moment, considered running out of the room and telling Konan that she would stay, or that she needed to speak with Sasori first. But then again, all he wanted was to make her a freaking human puppet that he could play with; when she refused, obviously he wanted nothing else to do with her. Well fine.

She thought about waiting until they had left the area around the Akatsuki base and then taking off too, or disabling the female Akatsuki member and finding help. But she realized as soon as the thought popped into her head that she wouldn't get very far. She was still suffering from the effects of the injection Konan had given her, and Sasori hadn't bothered to have the decency to give her a full antidote. She would collapse from chakra depletion before she got a mile away from Konan, and her chakra-infused attacks weren't even a possibility until the injection's effects fully wore off. She could only anticipate how long that might take, and judging by how much she had regained since the partial antidote, it could be days.

Resigned to having to leave with the detestable woman that her father had now assigned to watch her, Sakura fished out her pack from under the bed and began packing. Maybe this wasn't a total loss. If she could get inside information on Amegakure, when she finally escaped, she could give it to Tsunade-sama. It wasn't like she had much choice in the situation, and besides, her duty to her village came first, so even if it wasn't pleasant there with her father's...well, whatever Konan was exactly, gaining intel on Akatsuki since she was here anyway was more important than her comfort.

**"W**hat the hell do you mean Kakashi-sensei?! We can't just give up on Sakura-chan!" Naruto fumed, as Kakashi finished explaining their orders to him. Kakashi stood there waiting for him to cool down as he struggled in Yamato's wooden bindings, before replying sternly, "Naruto, we aren't deserting Sakura. You know that just like you, I wouldn't desert a member of my team. But it's not going to do her much good if you're captured by Akatsuki too, and they get their hands on the Kyuubi. Sakura has survived this long, I'm sure, so Tsunade-sama obviously thinks she can manage a few more days while we regroup and figure things out."

Naruto's face fell, but he calmed down enough for Yamato to release him. "Fine then, but let's get this over with fast. I'm not gonna leave Sakura-chan with those freaks any longer."

"Yes, we shall run with the power of youth to return to Konoha, so that we can return to our search for the beautiful Sakura-san sooner!" Lee took off running, and everyone else followed after him, back towards Konohagakure.

**J**udging by the scenery as the traveled, and the direction from which they entered the Land of Rain, Sakura had to guess that they had been somewhere in River Country. It wasn't the same place that they had rescued Gaara from though, she had known that since seeing the outside when Deidara took her on their little trip. She filed away the idea that Akatsuki must control both River Country and the Land of Rain, to tell Tsunade-sama later.

**T**hey arrived at Amegakure a little after nightfall; Sakura couldn't see much of the village as Konan weaved her through the streets but what she could see of the outlines of buildings, reflected against the starry night, looked like nothing she had ever seen before.

Finally, they came to the end of an alleyway, their way barred by a tall white wall with pipes coming out of it at odd angles. Konan stopped in front of the wall, pulling Sakura by the arm to stand beside her, and went through a quick series of handsigns before planting her hand against the wall. A door appeared, almost out of nowhere, and Konan opened it, shoving Sakura through and into the darkness beyond.

Sakura quickly got her bearings; they were in a very small square room, small enough that she had hit the far wall when Konan pushed her in. As Konan shut the outer door, a dim light flicked on, and the room began to move. Sakura realized it must be an elevator. The ride seemed to go on forever though, and when the slow elevator finally did come to a halt, Sakura was knocked a little off balance.

Konan walked out of the elevator into a cold, industrial hallway, before stating, "Follow me, I'll show you to your new room."

The halls were splayed with pipes here and there too, and although the sky had been clear outside, a few of them dripped water into the hallway, which smelled like a fresh summer rainstorm, and Sakura thought gave the place the only semblance of life. She wondered if her father was here, and how soon she would have to see him, and blanched at the thought.

Konan opened a steel door along the right wall of the hallway, moving aside to let Sakura into the room to put her things down. As soon as Sakura stepped into the room though and approached the bed to put down her things, Konan followed her in, shutting the door behind her with a silent click.

Sakura turned around abruptly at the sound, only to be greeted with the sight of giant paper spikes floating in mid-air inches from her head. Konan was just floating in midair near the doorway, the bottom half of her body gone, and small paper wings coming seamlessly out of her back. Sakura's eyes widened, but she summoned what little chakra she had to her fists, ready to rip the paper to shreds. The paper spikes pulled back for a moment, before rushing towards her, and Sakura swung at as many as she could, punching them and trying to rip them to shreds, while trying to dodge out of the way. Three ripped, but most of the ones she made contact with just lost their rigidity for a moment and unfolded, before refolding.

As Sakura went in for another chakra-laden punch, she suddenly fell to her knees, the room spinning. She knew that if she had tried any jutsu while still under the poison's effects she wouldn't last long, but she had hoped to last longer than this...

"You really shouldn't bother trying anymore Sakura-san," Konan began as Sakura looked up at her. The paper began unfolding into bindings. "Did you know that paper can be stronger than steel?" She smiled a little as the paper wrapped around Sakura's legs and torso, Sakura trying to rip it off to no real avail. Each time she ripped at a piece, it would either fold into hard, sharp spikes, or another piece would take its place.

Sakura started to get nervous as the paper encircled more and more of her body making it hard to breathe, but didn't have the chakra left to rip any more of it off. She couldn't die here, what would Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and Tsunade-shisou think? She had to get back to Konoha and put an end to Akatsuki. She had to save Sasuke-kun- if what Sasori-san had said was indeed true. Why was the female Akatsuki member trying to attack her anyway though? Wasn't she afraid of what Sakura's father would do to her, after seeing what had happened to Sasori?

Sakura's head started to ache like hell, her eyes burning as she struggled, reflexively, to put her hands to then to quell the pain. Failing to get her arms free she lifted her head, trying to wriggle out of the bonds, while glaring at Konan.

Konan stifled a gasp as she met Sakura's glare. She didn't have time to react or comment though, as she was suddenly ripped violently forwards, towards Sakura's place on the floor, the paper spikes and bindings falling apart and littering the floor at Sakura's feet.

Sakura's hands immediately went to her eyes, as she stood up and sent a roundhouse kick at the other female. She couldn't think of a time when she had ever felt such pain before; yet as quickly as the searing pain came, it was gone, leaving Sakura only with a splitting headache. Sakura had no idea of what was going on; one moment Konan was at the door, the next she was right on top of her, and the paper was just lying on the floor.

She didn't have much time to think on it though; as Sakura went to punch Konan, the woman disappeared into a flutter of paper butterflies, surrounding the girl. Before she could attack though, one of the butterflies behind her suddenly morphed into a thickly folded square, striking Sakura on the side of the head, just as she turned around.

Sakura was on the floor yet again, as Konan's upper body coalesced, pulling a familiar looking syringe out of the pocket of her cloak. "No!!" Sakura screamed, but Konan had already managed to drive the injection into her back.

"Don't worry, you won't die. I just don't have the time for you right now," Konan preened, the rest of the limp paper rematerializing from the floor onto her body. "Interesting as spending time with you may be." Konan turned to go, and from Sakura's place lying against the hard concrete floor, she noticed that the woman's sleeve was dripping blood, and a deep red patch was beginning to form along the side of her cloak just under her breast. Sakura must have done that, somehow, but how?

Konan slammed the door behind her, and locked it. Not that the girl could leave anyway. Pein may have gone on to Konohagakure, but that didn't mean she shouldn't follow him just because the girl was here. She was too weak to do much, and still wouldn't have recovered by the time they returned with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Konan cursed the girl for the gaping wounds in her arm and side, but it was nothing a little paper wouldn't fix.

She wasn't even sure why she cared, but she was infuriated right now. She could have expected that this was why Pein's daughter was brought to them, because Madara had stated that he was interested in the Rinnegan. But Konan had just thought that when Sakura and Sasuke had their children, it would be a luck of the draw; somewhere in her, the stupid girl must carry her father's genes, and they would just have to try and try until one of the children manifested them. Konan had never thought however that the girl herself had the kekkei genkai, and wondered if she was the only one who didn't know.

'No,' she reassured herself, 'the girl was nothing just as Pein said. She'll help Akatsuki to further its plans, and then she'll be dead. I'm the one who has stood by Nagato all of this time, his angel, the only one who he can truly trust and who has absolute loyalty to him. Someday; someday he will realize how much I care, once we have rid the world of wars and pain..' Konan let one, hopeful tear fall, before transforming into a mass of butterflies and heading to Konoha.

**"S**asuke, I'm disappointed in you. I don't enjoy someone trying to trick me." He glared at Sasuke, who looked completely indifferent to the whole ordeal.

"I don't now what your problem is," he replied, "you wanted the Hachibi, and here it is. Come on, we're leaving." Sasuke turned to Team Hawk, ignoring Madara.

"Where are you going Sasuke-kun? You haven't completed your mission!" It was said in Tobi's voice, as though Madara was trying to taunt Sasuke.

"I got your damned jinchuuriki. I'm going to Konoha." With that Sasuke began to walk out, cloak fluttering behind him.

"Sasuke, Sasuke..." Madara shook his head, tone serious again. "This is a fake; I'd hoped you would be able to tell the difference a little better than that. No matter," he said getting up, "I'll just have Kisame-san do it then. He'll appreciate a good fight...and it might work to our advantage."

Sasuke paused, glaring at Madara, but didn't say anything about the Hachibi jinchuuriki being a fake- he seriously hadn't know, and his team had certainly taken enough of a beating for him to be the real deal.

"Oh, and Sasuke?..." Madara continued. "Pein-san is taking care of Konoha. Your goal should be the Kages and their councils. They are the real bureaucrats behind the Uchiha clan's death, and all of the suffering your family went through. Anyway, I need to make a quick stop-over in Ame, but I'll be back to join you soon." Madara disappeared, and Sasuke stormed out of the room. He decided that he would target the Hokage especially though, along with her three advisors. Let Pein handle the village itself if he wanted to, but Sasuke would have his revenge.

**N**aruto couldn't believe the death and destruction; Konoha was unrecognizable, and Tsunade-baasama had been knocked unconscious a few hours ago. Kakashi-sensei was dead. And this guy called himself Ero-sennin's pupil?! Everything that he had done went against everything Jiraiya had believed in! Naruto hated him, hated them all for using war and suffering to take away everyone important to him and to Konoha.

He had been standing in this giant tree made of paper for the past ten minutes, screaming at Pein- or Nagato, whatever this guy's name was- about how wrong he was. About how Jiraiya who was sensei to both of them, had believed that the world could change, and there could be peace, without having to murder thousands of innocent people. "...The hero's name was Naruto. And I'm going to live up to Jiraiya-sensei's dreams and hopes for this world. I'm going to be the one to make peace a reality for everyone!!" Naruto looked at Nagato, conviction and hope in his voice. "I won't fail!!!"

Nagato looked down, losing his resolve. "I'm not what it was that you said, but I think we finally understand each other Uzamaki Naruto. Hopefully you can make your dreams a reality; I believe if anyone can, it is you." He made a handsign and held it, as Konan screamed, "No!! No, Nagato, you can't!!"

"What's he doing?!" Naruto asked.

Konan looked on sadly, terrified of the implications this jutsu would have, but helpless to do anything to save the man she loved. "It's said that whoever controls the Six Paths of Pain has authority over life and death... Nagato is the original Rinnegan bearer, and so he has powers that compare to a god. He's bringing back all of those who have died in Konoha- at the cost of his own life." As Nagato died, Konan broke down, collapsing onto the floor in tears.

**S**akura had managed to get herself up and into the bed, after a few hours of lying on the cold hard floor. She knew that the poison was causing her severe chakra depletion, but she hadn't gone through all of her medical training for nothing. She had been laying in the bed for what she estimated to be about 10 hours now, and needed to get herself up to get something to drink before she passed out again.

Luckily, on her- very limited- inspection of the room, which had been carried out from the bed, she had seen that there was a bathroom. She struggled to get up, moving herself shakily to the wall and using it as support as she made her way to the bathroom, nearly falling more than once on her journey.

Just as she had finished drinking and shut off the water, she heard the doorknob to the room turn. She dreaded seeing Konan again, dreaded what that woman might try next. Sakura shut the bathroom door, opting to sit on the toilet, and pretend that she was sick so that nobody would try to come in.

Yet it didn't seem to make much difference at all, as an orange mask suddenly appeared through the door, as though the structure wasn't even there in the first place. Sakura couldn't help but yelp in surprise as she jumped back reflexively, hitting her arm painfully into the wall beside the toilet.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Tobi waved happily, as the rest of his body phased into the room. "Wow, you look terrible!"

Sakura lunged at him, remembering what Sasori had said. After all, if Tobi wasn't dead like everyone else had been telling her, then didn't that mean that everything Sasori said was true? 'Tobi' merely sidestepped her, and her right arm simply phased through the side of his body it should by all rights have made contact with. "Damn, you bastard!" She cried, pulling herself up off of the tile immediately and flipping herself around to face him. The room swam in front of her eyes as her chakra system screamed in pain.

"Oh, Sakura-san, Tobi loves hugs too, and loves that you're falling all over me, but there's no time for hugs right now!" He whined, before pulling her up from her seated position roughly by the neck of her clothing. Glaring at her through his eyehole, he continued, his voice dropping decibels, "I'm not in the mood for games, Sakura-san. We have places to be, and I'm sure that Sasuke-san will be anticipating our arrival." His hand moved to fist her hair, and he dragged her by it across the hard floor, as she did everything she could to release herself from his grasp. Could this be called the worst day ever? Sakura certainly thought so.

**H**e wasn't sure what made him go all the way to Ame. It certainly wasn't a sense of loyalty to the organization or their goals, but he reassured himself that it wasn't any sense of loyalty or concern for her either. It had to be that he just was going to psychologically torture and break her and wind up getting his revenge no matter what. Yes, that was it. Sasori did not fail, no matter what obstacles got in his way.

He had only been there once, when he had joined the organization years ago, back when it was still a tiny underground operation. Needless to say, he spent about 20 minutes searching the alleys behind the cold building, which seemed at times tall enough to reach the sky. Fitting for someone who believed himself a god. Sasori scoffed at the though as he, ironically, found the hidden door to Pein's residence. He knew that Pein usually managed things from the top floor, and so, as he began concocting an excuse as to why he was here, he pushed the button for the top floor.

**K**onan wrapped the body in paper, as Naruto spoke. "I hope this doesn't mean that you'll be returning to Akatsuki."

Konan looked into Naruto's eyes, giving him a sad, sweet smile. "Don't worry, I'm done with that horrible organization. Nagato-san and Yahiko-san were my everything. I will return to lead my people, as Ame's Kage I suppose, and hopefully Konoha and Ame can be close allies from now on." Paper from Konan's forearm peeled away, and she held a bouquet of paper flowers out to him. "Hopefully you can realize the dreams that Nagato-san, Yahiko-san, and I have worked so hard for. I'm counting on you to restore peace, because I believe in you, just like Nagato-san did."

Konan turned to go, the bodies of her fallen comrades in tow. "I will send your teammate Sakura-san back to you. I'm sorry for all the pain we've caused..." There would be no reason to keep the girl imprisoned any longer, with Pein gone, and Konan having no interest in Madara's plans.

**W**hen he saw the open door, he knew Sakura must be in there. He couldn't sense her chakra when it was so low, but walked into the room anyway, only to be greeted with a very unwelcome sight.

Tobi was standing in the middle of the room, fisting Sakura's hair as she was forced into a kneeling position, her head drooping as far as his actions would allow it. "Oh, Sasori-san!! Yay, visitors!!" Tobi said excitedly, causing Sakura to jerk her head up to stare at the doorway. Tobi pulled harder on her hair, causing her to cringe and muffle a little moan. "But, Sakura-chan and Tobi were just going to go out to have some fun! I guess we'll see you later then, Sasori-san!" He waved with his free hand, and Sasori ran at the pair, but before he could get two feet, Tobi and Sakura had vanished from the middle of the room, with no trace of them ever having been there.

* * *

Okay, well there it is. I skipped the Naruto/Pein fight and went right to the conversation they had, because seriously...fights take a long time, and if you care, you can just read it in the manga or wait like a month for it to appear in the anime anyway. Much more vivid then reading about it here too.

I'm going to do the same for the Kage Summit and Sasuke's little escapades there too, and for most of Sasuke's battle with Danzo. After that, I'll think I'll go back to using everything that happens in the manga- with the distinct difference of course being that Sakura is with Akatsuki and not Team 7 like in canon.

What's Sasori gonna do now though? And Naruto is going to think poor, neglected Konan, who was finally doing the right thing, is just a big fat liar. And would Sasuke really just rape Sakura or something, because Madara wants him to?... Well, we all know the answer to that question...Sasuke is really messed up, I mean, even willing to rip out his dead brother's eyes?! Sickoooo.


End file.
